106 - Small Things Matter
Small Things Matter
I believe in the adage, "Don't sweat the small stuff." However, the opposite of a profound truth is also a profound truth. And, so, today, I want to talk about when small things matter. Two things in the past few weeks have brought this idea back to my attention.
As I continue to recover from cancer treatment and begin my journey of survivorship, I'm taking a look at my/our diets. (As the head chef of our shared home, the Bestie Bungalow, Gayle has to come along, at least a bit, on this journey.) One of the things I'm taking notice of as I meal plan and grocery shop is added sugar. I love sweets and treats and am not trying to remove those from our diets. However, when I reach for a supposedly healthy item like a cup of applesauce or some granola, I don't want a ton of added sugar to also be present.
Granola is a staple of my breakfast routine. I checked out "no sugar added granolas" at the store which are both ridiculously expensive and not that tasty. So, I did some googling and found a few recipes to try to make granola at home. I tried one of the recipes last week and it was tasty, but needs a lot of tweaking and technique changes to get it where it needs to be. The problem is, the recipe makes a LOT of granola - two weeks or more worth given this is just a breakfast add on for me. Unfortunately, I didn't think about this when I made it - and when I could have cut the recipe in half or even quarters to try out the flavor and technique needed to get yummy, crunchy granola. Next time I make the recipe, I'm going for a half batch and focusing on one or two flavor and technique changes until I can dial in the recipe and the process. Doing this is what people mean when they say, "Fail Fast." Make small enough prototypes/batches and changes so you can continue to learn from what works and doesn't and you can change the process based on what you learn.
On the flip side of this, I've shared before that Kona and I are trying to earn our AKC Fit Dog titles. This is a means for us to bond and for both of us to get back into our regular routine of walking and exercise as I continue to recover.
We started the journey about 8 weeks ago. Part of what you have to do at each level is walk for 75 - 150 minutes (depending on level) a week for 8 weeks. While we walked every day during radiation, some days were very short walks - only around our block a couple of times. I hadn't been thinking about the collective impact of these little actions. When I sat down to update the AKC paperwork for last week - where we easily hit our required 75 minutes, I also noted that with the exception of one week during treatment we still hit 75 minutes+ each week. It was slower that we've ever walked but we did it! Small actions, taken regularly, really do add up. I'm excited to submit our bronze level Fit Dog paperwork next week when I thought it would be at least a month before we'd finish our required weeks of walking for this first level.
Where can you take advantage of failing fast and learning from a prototype? Where would it make sense for you to look at a small change that would make a big difference if you did it every day or every week?
Some Things You Might Find Interesting
What I Published: Another quiet week, but really pleased with all of the other work I’ve been getting done this week.
Keep Up With My Cancer Journey: If you’re reading this on Monday when it’s first released, I’ll be starting internal radiation on Wednesday of this week. If you’d like to follow along in more detail on this journey, you can request access to my Cancer Journey website at https://www.mylifeline.org/invitation/Monroe4702670/c4d9a0945939697870a9267ec2cd951230b25b0e9f023ca466233659967b5e46
Secrets of Miss America: Neither Gayle nor I are beauty pageant people, but these kinds of behind the scenes stories are often fascinating. The Secrets of Miss America on Hulu was an interesting docu-series that isn’t an enormous investment of time. As a gap filler in all of our Olympics themed television, it had some interesting ethical points to consider and chat about.
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