Get Small, Get Better

This story gets musical, so bear with me on the start.

Thanksgiving 2011. I’m cooking for 18 people. My back hurts all through the weekend. Then it gets much worse. Then I’m in the hospital. Then I’m in shock as a doctor tells me I need to have surgery on my spine. I wake up in the hospital with a scar on my throat and titanium screwed into my vertebrae. Three months in a neck brace. I was 20 pounds under weight, physically weak (frail) — and furiously determined to become the strongest I could be.

But how?

Somehow in the haze of pain medication, deep self-reflection and a book about kaizen, I decided running would be my path to recovery.

I start by building small habits. Every night before bed I set out my running shoes. Every morning I put the shoes on before I do anything else. A habit starts to form. Every morning I put on the shoes and go outside (in a neck brace). Every morning I put on the shoes, go outside and walk around the block (in a neck brace).

I was cleared for physical activity on March 29, 2012. No neck brace. First thing that morning I put on the shoes, went outside and ran a mile. I’ve been running every day since then. All weather. 10 countries. This morning was #1,988. It’s automatic. It’s who I am now. And I’m physically stronger today at 45 than I was at 18.

As musical people, often the big improvements we seek are accomplished through a series of very small steps. Playing that chord over and over. Tapping that rhythmic pattern. Practicing that melodic run. Singing that line.

By themselves — these small, simple actions are barely worth mentioning. And yet they’re also crucial building blocks for habits that lead to breakthrough achievements.

You want to improve on your musical instrument. Get small.

Put on your shoes. Run a mile. Run 6,000. You’ll get better.

You want science with a side order of inspiration? Check out James Clear and Charles Duhigg.