The Best Way to Eat an Elephant

What’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

What’s the best way to create a better life for yourself? One thing at a time.

Obviously, I'm not encouraging anyone to go eat an elephant. What I am encouraging you to do, however, is to pick just one small thing today that you'd like to get better at. Let's use the dirty dishes as an example.

I used to be horrible with dishes. Back when I was a college student and didn’t have the luxury of a dishwasher in my house... I’d finish eating and I'd take the plate into the kitchen and put it in the sink. And that’s where it stopped. The dish would sit in the same spot in the sink until there were 40 other dirty dishes piled on top of it. I'd let it get to the point where I couldn’t fit any more dishes in the sink and I was forced to wash them. One day I went to add that 41st dish to the pile and I had to stop myself. I looked at the disgusting pile of dishes and decided right then and there that this terrible habit had to stop. If this was how I was handling my dishes, then how was I handling the rest of my life? I needed to get better.

So I came up with a plan.

I made a promise to myself that there would be ZERO dishes in the sink at the end of each day. At first, it was tough. I would pile the dishes in the sink throughout the day and then at 9:00pm I’d walk by and remember the promise I made to myself. I’d spend the next 20 minutes hand washing the day’s dishes until there was none left in the sink. That got real old after about two days, so a new habit started forming. Each time I’d finish using a dish, I’d take it directly to the sink, turn the water on, spend about 20 seconds washing it and place it on the drying mat. When 9:00pm rolled around and I walked by the sink... BOOM. No dishes in the sink.

As silly as this analogy is, it's a great way to think about the bigger picture. Do we want to let our problems persist, or do we want to deal with them as soon as they arise? I think you know the answer.

Today, I challenge you to think of just one thing you’d like to improve in your life. Whether it’s going to the gym, reading, journaling, waking up earlier, brushing your teeth, taking your vitamins, or doing the dishes... choose just one thing.

Make a plan for how you'll tackle this issue. How can you do it better? How can you do it more efficiently? What's the best way to deal with it?

Today, focus on that one thing and that thing only. If you need to, focus on it tomorrow too. Heck, focus on it for a month if that's what it takes. Either way, stay focused and don't quit until you've found a solution.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Great things take time and it's all about winning the small battles. Focus on the little things and focus on them one at a time. Remember, consistency compounds.