SUCCESS IS A SNOWBALL ❄️

When I left my house get dirty, I let it get all the way dirty. Inevitably, eventually, I come to a moment when I suddenly realize I have been living in a absolute pigsty and must immediately clean everything in sight. I begin moving bits and bobs off every surface: a pair of socks under the coffee table, kitchen scissors that have migrated to the entry way table, every pair of pants I have worn that week left exactly where I took them off. I clean like this for hours, but I don't see any change. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing no progress after working for hours on end. 

It's then that I remember that picking up a little bit from every where never helps. And so I change tacks from focusing on bits and bobs to going surface by surface. 

I completely clear off the chair in my room. then the top of my desk, then all the books strewn across my bed. until finally order begins to emerge around me. 

The finance word calls this one-surface-at-a-time approach the "snowball theory," and financial advisers use it to help people get out of debt. If you have seven credit cards that are maxed out and rapidly collecting interest, you'll never get out of debt by paying the minimum monthly payment on all seven of them. Snowball theory targets the smallest debt first by paying it off aggressively. 

Of course, you have to continue to pay the monthly minimums on your other cards, but at least you see measurable progress. You don't suddenly have more money, but by seeing this progress, you create your own forward momentum, inciting a snowball effect. 

Whether it's a dirty room, debt, or any other task you've been letting build up, know that you can't start everywhere all at once. 

Pick a single surface, start your snowball, and give yourself the push you need. ❄️🌨️☃️


Love, 
Elista 
Germany, 2023



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