The Gentle Art of Getting Ahead

Your phone is probably buzzing right now. There’s a pile of something laundry, bills, maybe both, waiting for your attention. And in the back of your mind, there’s that list. You know the one. The list of all the things you should be doing to get your life on a better track. “Get in shape.” “Sort out my money.” “Find a better job.” “Be happier.”

It’s massive. It’s terrifying. And just thinking about it is enough to make you want to lie down for a quick nap. We’ve all been there, staring up at a mountain we’re supposed to climb with no idea where to even find the first foothold.

But what if you’re looking at it all wrong? What if getting to the top isn’t about one giant, heroic leap? What if it’s about something much simpler, something so small you can do it between sips of your morning tea? It is. The secret isn’t a secret at all. It’s a quiet, daily decision. It’s the commitment to make a choice to change one thing positively in your life everyday.

Not ten things. Not even two. Just one. One tiny, almost insignificant shift. This isn’t about dramatic revolutions that burn out in a week. This is about the gentle art of getting ahead, one deliberate choice at a time.

The Tyranny of the "Big Fix" (And Why It Fails Every Time)

We’re conditioned to think that for change to be real, it has to be huge. We see it everywhere. The influencer who transformed their body in 90 days. The cousin who suddenly became a millionaire from a side hustle. The stories are dramatic, and they’re sexy. But they’re also, for most of us, completely unsustainable.

Our brains aren’t wired for sudden, extreme shifts. Think about it. If you’ve never run before, and you decide tomorrow you’re going to run 10 kilometres, what happens? You’ll be sore, miserable, and probably never want to run again. If you look at your spending and panic, deciding to never eat out again or buy anything fun, how long does that last? A week, maybe? Then you feel like a failure for “breaking the rules,” and you end up splurging even more.

This "all or nothing" approach is a trap. It sets you up for failure because it ignores the most powerful force in human behaviour: momentum. You can’t go from 0 to 100. But you can go from 0 to 1. And then from 1 to 2. And before you know it, you’re cruising at a cool 60 without even breaking a sweat.

The Power of the "One Thing" 

So, how does this work in real life? It’s about building a habit of conscious choice. The what matters less than the action. The goal isn’t the outcome on day one; the goal is proving to yourself that you are the kind of person who makes positive choices.

It’s like a snowball. A tiny ball of snow at the top of a hill isn’t impressive. But once you push it and it starts rolling, it picks up more snow, more speed, more size, and more power all on its own. Your one positive choice is that initial push.

• Day 1: You choose to drink a large glass of water first thing in the morning instead of scrolling on your phone.

• Day 2: You feel a bit more hydrated, a bit more clear-headed. You choose to put 500 into a savings jar instead of buying a packet of biscuits.

• Day 3: You see the jar has 1,000. It feels good. You choose to walk for 15 minutes while you call a friend.

• Day 10: You’ve saved 5,000. You’ve drunk water every morning. You’ve moved your body. You now believe you can make a good choice. So you choose to learn one new skill for your job for 20 minutes.

See how it builds? You’re not “getting rich” or “getting ripped.” You’re just making a choice. But those choices compound. The psychological win of following through on a small promise to yourself is more valuable than any single action. It rebuilds your self-trust brick by tiny brick.

What This Actually Looks Like

Enough theory. Let’s get practical. What does it mean to make a choice to change one thing positively in your life everyday? It can be anything. Seriously. The bar is deliciously low, and that’s the point.

For Your Money:

• Today's Choice: Round up every purchase to the nearest 100 and save the difference. Bought something for 370? That’s 30 into the savings pot.

• This Week's Choice: Review one recurring bill. Can you switch to a cheaper data plan? Negotiate one of your recurrent bills? One phone call, one change.

• This Month's Choice: Instead of buying lunch out every day this week, pack lunch from home twice. Take the money you saved and put it straight towards something meaningful, maybe airtime for your mum, or a nicer ingredient for a family dinner.

For Your Well-being:

• Today's Choice: Set a timer for 10 minutes and just sit. No phone, no TV. Just you and your thoughts. Or no thoughts! Just breathe.

• This Week's Choice: Swap one soda or sugary drink for water or a natural fruit infusion.

• This Month's Choice: Go to bed 20 minutes earlier tonight. Just one night. See how you feel.

For Your Mind:

• Today's Choice: Listen to a podcast about something that interests you on your commute instead of the same music playlist.

• This Week's Choice Compliment one person genuinely. Not a vague "well done," but a specific "I really appreciated how you handled that customer today. Your patience was impressive."

• This Month's Choice: Forgive yourself for one old mistake. Literally say it out loud: "I release that. I'm learning." And mean it.

The beauty is in the simplicity. You’re not overhauling your diet; you’re swapping one drink. You’re not becoming a financial guru; you’re rounding up your change. You’re not embarking on a spiritual journey; you’re just sitting quietly for ten minutes. These actions are so small that resistance is pointless. There’s no excuse not to do them.

The Science of Small Wins: It’s Not Just Feel-Good Fluff

This isn’t just motivational talk. There’s solid psychology behind it. Researchers like Dr. B.J. Fogg at Stanford University talk about "Tiny Habits." The core idea is that by anchoring a new, tiny behaviour to an existing habit, you make it easy to do and hard to miss.

For example:

• After I pour my morning coffee (existing habit), I will take one deep breath (new tiny behaviour).

• After I start my car (existing habit), I will say one thing I’m grateful for today (new tiny behaviour).

These tiny successes trigger a release of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is the chemical associated with motivation and reward. It makes you feel good and, crucially, it makes you want to repeat the action that caused the feeling. You’re literally rewiring your brain to crave positive action instead of dreading it.

Your Invitation to a Quieter, Steadier Revolution

So, where do you start? Right here. Right now. Don’t make a grand plan for the next year. Don’t even think about tomorrow.

Ask yourself: What is one tiny, positive choice I can make before the sun sets today?

That’s it. That’s your entire mission. It could be deleting a negative contact from your phone. It could be finally fixing that wobbly table leg. It could be telling your child a story instead of turning on the TV. It could be saving 100.

The scale does not matter. The consistency does.

This is how you build a life you’re proud of, not in a noisy, dramatic explosion, but in a quiet, steady whisper. Day by day. Choice by choice. You’re not climbing a mountain anymore. You’re just placing one stone firmly on the path in front of you. And then another. And before you know it, you’ll look back and see you’ve built your own beautiful, solid road, leading exactly where you wanted to go.

You may ask ...

1. What if I forget to do my "one thing" for the day?

Hey, it happens to everyone! Life gets busy. The most important thing is to not let one missed day turn into two, then three, then a full stop. This isn’t a streak you’re trying to maintain like a social media challenge. If you forget, just acknowledge it and make your small choice the next day. No guilt, no drama. The goal is progress, not perfection.

2. How do I know what the "right" one thing to choose is?

There is no "right" thing. The best choice is the one that feels most manageable and slightly meaningful to you in the moment. Is your mind feeling cluttered? Maybe your one thing is clearing off your bedside table. Feeling stretched thin financially? Maybe your one thing is reviewing a single receipt to see where your money went. Trust your gut. The action itself is less important than the act of making a conscious, positive decision.

3. Won't such small changes take forever to make a real difference?

Yes, and no. A single drop of water is insignificant. But consistent drops will fill a bucket and eventually wear down stone. The small changes are easy to do, so you actually stick with them. Big, drastic changes are hard, so we quit. Which one actually gets you to the finish line faster? The slow, steady pace always wins the race. You’ll be shocked at how quickly those "insignificant" notes add up to a meaningful amount, or how a few minutes of quiet each day dramatically lowers your stress in just a few weeks.