Commentary: Best technique for self-improvement is easier than you might think

Andrew Herzog, host of “Bonfire” on TheBlaze Radio Network, describes the latest self-improvement craze:

There is a self-improvement technique out there that is gaining some ground – specifically 1%.

That’s it: 1%.

Think about it — if you were to improve some aspect of yourself or your life but just 1% per day and continued to do so for just one year, you could see tremendous change in no time. The key is being persistent and determined.

For example, if you begin the year with the ability to do 10 push-ups in the morning, then feasibly you could finish the year with the ability to do about 378 push-ups! That’s an insane amount of progress, compounded from just 1% improvement per day.

Now usually life doesn’t break down into easy quantifiable snippets where 1% can be easily measured, but the principle is still the same — little steps of progress. Self-improvement isn’t something as easy and straight-forward as getting from ‘A’ to ‘B,’ where one minute you’re failing and the next minute you’re winning. Rather, self-improvement is a longer journey of getting from ‘A’ to ‘Z,’ with all the letters in between as attainable steps in the right direction!

As long as you make a tiny mental effort each day of the year to improve yourself or your life and act on it, lasting progress can be made. One of the most difficult aspects of change is commitment, so don’t commit to writing 1,000 words per day or working out five days a week or volunteering 25 hours a week if that’s too much! Start small. Small is manageable and easy to be motivated by.

Are we actually going to improve every day? No, we’re human and we’re faulty, but I believe slowly but surely improving over time is a better motivator than trying to change everything right here and right now. Be patient with yourself.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew.