Small Changes, Big Differences

from 5/17/08

It hit home to me a long ago that in life, every little change to your lifestyle does make a difference in the end.

I decided nearly a month ago that I wanted to make some little changes. One was I was no longer going to drive the 5 minute drive to my local shopping center that I make sometimes once or even twice a day during spring, summer and fall.

This center is not only home to my grocery store but my bank, pet store (we’ve got dog, cats, fish AND lizards) dry cleaner, hardware store, and... eyeglass (I lose and/or break my glasses constantly!). Also in this center is wonderful little Japanese restaurant that serves great sushi (my son and I adore that) but also great little Italian place that makes the yummiest white pizza. There’s a Chinese place both my kids get excited to go to. (Me not so much as its that greasy fried version of Chinese food.) Other often requested treats are Starbucks and Baskin Robbins. So you can see why I’m constantly at this little hub of commercial action.

Its a rather pleasant 20 minute round trip stroll made even more enjoyable with my personal soundtrack accompanying me in the form of my iPod. I was also dropping my gym membership because I figured out that I was spending 30 minutes behind the wheel door to door to my gym in order where I would spend 30 minutes on some sort of aerobic machine 4 times a week. Duh.

In less time and making a less negative impact on the environment... I could get the same aerobic workout each week overall. Plus, I save money on the pricey gym membership (I had a really nice one.. $125 per month!) and on gas too. Also greatly decreased my impulse buying because if I can only buy what will fit into the two canvas shopping bags I have. Nice side benefit is that I no longer have the 10 little blue plastic bags coming into the house each week, too.

Of course, because I love to cook and I’m more spontaneous by nature, shopping for ingredients for meals every day or so makes this new change far from a sacrifice. This kind of change is also aided by the fact that I own my own business and therefore "own" all of my hours. I make the schedule and work mostly from a home office these days.

I had calculated the amount of money/time I’d save by making this change but had not calculated how significantly it impacted my general mood on a daily basis.

Swinging my shopping bags while bee-bopping to the music... Observing the changes in the landscape along the way (I’m a gardener too)... Thinking about what I want to cook... Smiling and chatting with various people along the way (at the gym, its Serious Work Out Time, you don’t “chat”)... I realized that puts me in a happy mindset every time. Even in the rain it is good for me.

Yep, small changes can make a world of difference.