As with most things in life, real change doesn’t happen all at once. Real change is incremental.

I experienced this firsthand when I was training for a half-marathon. I remember when I first started running, I thought I was going to collapse after about a half mile. After a while, that distance became a mile. Then, 2 miles. One day, without even noticing it, I was able to run a decent distance without being completely winded.

It felt awesome and although I was surprised, I shouldn’t have been because that was how my training plan set me up for success.

This is the sneaky power of incremental change. You make a small improvement, which becomes the new normal, and you get used to it.

You make a small improvement again. That becomes the new normal again. You get used to it again. On and on the cycle goes.

Because incremental change is so sneaky, we barely ever notice we are getting closer to our goal, and then “all of a sudden” we’re there!

I didn’t feel a lot stronger because I wasn’t a lot stronger… at least, not compared to the previous day or the previous week. But month after month, run after run, it all added up. All those little bits of “stronger” started to compound on top of one another, and that is how I was able to finish the half-marathon. Incrementally.

 

Of course, this doesn’t just apply to running…  Use this knowledge and apply it to your investment plan. Small steps, over time, will get you to your goal!