I first came across Leo Babauta’s writing in 2006 or 2007. This was shortly after he started his blog Zen Habits, and it focused mostly on task-based self-improvement: productivity hacks (such as keeping his email inbox empty); getting fit (quit smoking and start exercising) and how to get out of debt (tips for spending less money and how to start saving).
Over the years, Babauta has largely stuck with writing about self-improvement, and while he still tackles the same topics (healthy eating, fitness, and personal finances) his approach to personal change is more zen than habits.
For a while, Babauta kept a second blog focused on minimalism called mnmlist. My favorite post of his, and perhaps my favorite blog post by anyone ever, was published on mnmlist in April, 2010.
I keep a paper copy of the post―“The Only Thing You Can Change”―above my desk and read it nearly every day. Leo has put all of his published work in the public domain to make it easier for people to find it and share it. So I have reprinted his post below.
————————————————–
mnmlist: the only thing you can change
You can’t change your entire life.
You can only change your next action.
You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.
You can only change your next interaction.
You can’t change your entire job.
You can only change your next task.
You can’t change your body composition.
You can only change your next meal.
You can’t change your fitness level.
You can only start moving.
You can’t declutter your entire life.
You can only choose to get rid of one thing, right now.
You can’t eliminate your entire debt.
You can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item.
You can’t change the past, or control the future.
You can only change what you’re doing right now.
You can’t change everything.
You can only change one, small thing.
And that’s all it takes.