The Compound Effect: Small Changes for Big Results in 2025.

As the calendar turns to a fresh year, many of us feel the weight of expectation crushing our shoulders. We rush to craft grand resolutions and ambitious plans, believing that each year must somehow eclipse the last. But what if we've been thinking about progress all wrong?

The path to extraordinary achievements isn't always paved with dramatic leaps and bold declarations. Sometimes, the most powerful transformations begin with the smallest of steps – the quiet decision to read one page, take one walk, or learn one new thing.

The beauty of thinking small lies in its gentle approach to change. Where massive goals can paralyse us with their magnitude, tiny actions slip easily into our daily lives, gradually building momentum without triggering the fear and anxiety that so often lead to procrastination. Your aspirations can remain as vast as the horizon, but your journey there can be as simple as placing one foot in front of the other.

Let's explore how some of the world's most innovative minds and accomplished leaders have championed the power of incremental progress and why small steps might be the revolutionary approach your goals have been waiting for. Consider these inspiring and practical quotes to think differently:

"Kaizen and innovation are the two major strategies people use to create change. Where innovation demands shocking and radical reform, all Kaizen asks is that you take small, comfortable steps toward improvement." - Robert D. Maurer.

The genius of Kaizen lies in those two deceptively simple words: "small" and "comfortable."

Dr. Maurer's approach turns conventional wisdom on its head by advocating for changes so miniature that they bypass our brain's natural resistance. Take the goal of drinking more water, for instance. Instead of pledging to drink eight glasses daily, you simply place water bottles in strategic locations—your car, your desk, your nightstand. Even if you don't immediately reach for them, their presence plants the seed of awareness.

In his groundbreaking book One Small Step Can Change Your Life, Maurer presents compelling evidence that transformation doesn't require herculean efforts. His research shows how participants achieved remarkable results with just two 10-minute exercise sessions daily, challenging the notion that meaningful change demands hours of intense workouts. The secret? Building a sustainable system and showing up consistently.

The key question becomes elegantly simple: "What is the smallest possible step I can take today toward my goal?"

Whether you're aiming to enhance your fitness, deepen your relationships, or expand your professional capabilities, start by identifying that one tiny action that feels almost laughably achievable. It could be taking one mindful breath, reading one page or writing one bullet point on your slide.

In the architecture of lasting change, these microscopic adjustments often create the most monumental shifts.

“Micro wins are the antidote to inaction” – Lori Milner.

During my 2018 TED Talk, I introduced a powerful framework called ACT (Attitude, Consistency, Trust) that transforms how we approach progress. At its heart lies the concept of micro wins – those seemingly insignificant steps that build the foundation for lasting change.

Think of a micro win as your first Lego brick in a grand creation. It could be as simple as taking one mindful breath, performing a single squat, reading just one page, or downloading that application form for your next qualification. These tiny actions might seem inconsequential, but they're actually revolutionary.

The journey begins with shifting your mindset. Rather than fixating on the mountain ahead, break your goal into pebble-sized steps, schedule them in the calendar, and show up to claim your daily micro win. Hit Control C and repeat.

What often derails us isn't the effort required but our struggle with trust. We expect immediate transformation, and when reality doesn't match our timeline, disappointment creeps in. The key is learning to quiet that inner critic who insists you should be further along. Instead, celebrate the consistent behaviours that create daily victories.

As you set your 2025 goals, identify the smallest possible step, then carve out sacred time in your calendar. Guard these moments fiercely – they're appointments with your future self. The meta-habit underlying all transformation is simply showing up. Whether it's ten minutes or an hour, each appearance builds trust in your capacity for change.

Remember, you don't need massive leaps to create momentum. By embracing micro wins, you're not just making progress – you're building a bridge of trust between who you are and who you're becoming.

“Instead of aggressively forcing yourself into a boot-camp mentality about change, give your mind permission to make the leaps on its own schedule, in its own time.” ― Robert Maurer.

If you trust the process of creating micro wins, don’t sabotage yourself by setting an unrealistic time limit. This will unravel not only your progress but also the joy of creating your daily micro wins.

If you want to start a new hobby, get fitter, or take on a new skill at work, you have to give yourself permission to be a beginner again and feel out of your depth for a period until things start to feel more natural.

You can't force an end date on growth and habits because they are a continual journey. It's having faith in yourself that you will get to where you want to be, but this faith must be backed up by consistent action.

On the days when you feel like change is taking too long, or you’re still feeling like an imposter, remind yourself— It's on the way.

To quote Ellen Langer -  "There is always a step small enough from where we are to get us to where we want to be. If we take that small step, there's always another we can take, and eventually, a goal thought to be too far to reach becomes achievable."

“Don't wait for the perfect moment; take the first step and make it perfect” – Robert Maurer.

There is no such thing as the perfect time. Often, we have an external condition we are waiting to be fulfilled to permit us to take action. “When I lose the weight, then I will start…” or “When I feel creative or energetic or whatever, then I will start.”

We can't wait for feeling to drive us; otherwise, we will never begin. Action is what drives the inspiration and motivation you most want.

When I first read this quote, the words "Take the first step and make it perfect," made me nervous, as I call myself a recovering perfectionist. My interpretation is, "Take the first step and do it your way."

Most people don’t take action because they feel they need to be someone else or do it in a specific way, which isn’t really their mould. When you do it your way, you bring creativity and energy to the task.

Sometimes, the first step is anything but perfect. When I started writing, the first step was messy, clumsy, and quite embarrassing. However, by consistently showing up to the Word document, I improved, and what used to take me four hours now takes me close to thirty minutes. This is not because I am gifted but because I consistently take small steps of action to master my craft.

As James Clear echoes in his book Atomic Habits, If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.

“In order to design successful habits and change your behaviors, you should do three things. Stop judging yourself. Take your aspirations and break them down into tiny behaviors. Embrace mistakes as discoveries and use them to move forward.” – BJ Fogg.

Even if you’re taking small incremental steps to make the change you want, mistakes are inevitable.

If you imagine your habits are train tracks in your mind, when you want to replace an old habit with a new one, you can't rip up the old tracks. The new tracks simply go over them, so now and then, it’s going to happen that you go down an old track.

Rather than berate yourself for having an extra piece of cake at the party or hitting snooze and missing the workout, develop a kind mind and a learning mindset.

If you can reframe a mistake into a discovery, it changes the whole experience because now it’s not that you did something wrong, but it’s an opportunity to solve the puzzle of what triggered you back into old ways in that situation.

Triggers are generally an emotion, a place or a time of day. Did you have the extra glass of wine because you felt anxious, sad or angry? Was it because you were with friends and felt compelled to have even though you didn’t really want to?

The more you know yourself and your triggers, the more you set yourself up for success the next time.

"Celebrating small wins gives us something to repattern our life around" - BJ Fogg.

As you take your small steps and create small progress, don’t forget to celebrate them.

We often feel that the result must be monumental and life-changing to earn our recongition and attention, but celebrating these small wins is what makes change possible.

BJ Fogg says that emotions create change because if you have positive reinforcement at the moment of the right action, it locks the behaviour into a habit. Think about when a toddler is learning to walk. As he/she takes a little wobble of a step and falls, you celebrate wildly because that’s progress and a step in the right direction. The toddler figures I must have done something right and tries again.

Celebrate yourself when you stay calm instead of defaulting to anger or make it to the gym even when you feel exhausted. Any shift in behaviour is evidence that you are changing and moving closer to your goal.

"Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Getting 1 per cent better every day counts for a lot in the long run"—James Clear.

Just as compound interest transforms modest investments into substantial wealth, tiny daily habits shape the architecture of our lives. Consider the ripple effect of swapping a sugary drink for water: this single choice, repeated daily, cascades into improved energy and long-term health benefits that compound over months and years.

Author Charles Duhigg reveals a fascinating correlation: the simple act of making your bed each morning is linked to increased productivity, enhanced well-being, and stronger financial discipline. This three-minute ritual – so small it might seem insignificant – acts as a keystone habit, creating a domino effect of positive choices throughout your day. It's a powerful reminder that transformation often begins with the smallest of actions.

Now think about James Clear’s idea on how this 1% theory works in reverse: “The slow pace of transformation makes it easy for a bad habit to slide. If you can eat an unhealthy meal today, the scale doesn't move much. If you work late tonight and ignore your family, they will forgive you. If you procrastinate and put off your project until tomorrow, there will usually be time to finish it later. A single decision is too easy to dismiss.

But when we repeat 1 percent errors day after day by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results. It’s the accumulation of many missteps—a 1 percent decline here and there—that eventually leads to a problem.

Making a choice that is 1 per cent better or 1 per cent worse seems insignificant at the moment, but over the span of moments that make up a lifetime, these choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be."

Final thoughts.

As you embrace the fresh canvas of a new year, remember that even your boldest dreams unfold through the quiet power of small steps.

James Clear captures this wisdom perfectly: all big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision.

What small choice could reshape your path today? Reflect on the past year's lessons – what are you no longer willing to tolerate? Perhaps it begins with reclaiming thirty minutes for lunch, creating a pocket of calm in your day. While an hour would be ideal, start where you are. The most sustainable changes are the ones that feel almost too easy to fail.

If you make just one decision today, choose this: commit to showing up for yourself consistently. Create your micro win, savour the victory, and let that momentum carry you forward. After all, every masterpiece begins with a single brushstroke.

Here's to the next micro-step,

Warm wishes,

Lori