How Small Changes Can Change Your Life

When I'm talking with people, a lot of them say they would love to change different things about their lifestyle. Whether it's starting a garden, being more self sufficient, cooking more from scratch, buying more organic/local/GMO free food, being more connected to nature, etc. The desire is there for so many people. But it's overwhelming to change. You have your "go to" recipes and you buy the same products each week at the grocery store and you have your habits that have built up over the years. But you don't need to wake up one morning and change your whole life. Small changes lead to big changes!

We make all of our own bread from organic GMO free flour, baked fresh a few times a week. We grow all our own plants for our garden every year in our small greenhouse. We have a flock of chickens that not only pay for themselves but make us a profit and provide us with lots of food. We cook as much of our food from scratch as we can and avoid as many processed foods as possible. We only purchase local humanely raised meat. We don't have cable TV and rarely even turn it on. We buy things used and barter when we can. We are constantly trying to be more self sufficient and spend everyday learning something new. 

But I'll tell you a little secret. We weren't always this way. Even though I grew up around the farm and have loved caring for animals my whole life, my ideas about food weren't always the same as they are now. My favorite snack used to be Cheetos. Those fake orange.. I don't even know quite what they are. I used to inhale those. But now a favorite snack of mine is raw milk cheese.. yum!

Your life is a constant journey where you are (hopefully) always evolving, learning and shaping yourself and your life for the better. You get pulled in a lot of different directions but ultimately you can choose what path you head down. 

If you want to make changes in your life, start small. Pick one thing and change it. If your goal is to purchase more organic food, try replacing one of your current grocery store staples each week or month. If you want to start eating less processed food, start gradually by cutting out one thing at a time, such as soda first. Be sure to replace these things with something else you enjoy! Eric used to like soda, but found he enjoys juicing fresh juice more. It's not about depriving yourself! If you want to start eating more local food, check your grocery store. Local food is so much more popular even larger grocery store chains are teaming up with local farms. Or google CSAs in your area and see where you can get fresh local produce nearby. If you want to start a garden, don't overwhelm yourself by thinking you need to start 20 different types of plants in your kitchen window! Pick up some started tomato plants and some basil and enjoy some homemade tomato sauce all summer. The next year, add a couple of other vegetable plants. 

Don't be afraid of failing when you try new things! If you try a garden for the first time and some of your plants don't work out, don't be discouraged. This is how learning happens. No one becomes an expert without making a million mistakes first! There is always so many things to learn and if you approach everything with a learning mindset, you will learn!

I hear the same things from so many people. They have always wanted to have a garden, have animals, learn to cook real food, etc. I say life is too short to ignore what you want to do! Wake up each day and try to better the life of you and your family. Even if it is just in a small way. 

Remember that everyone starts off as a beginner. Comparing yourself to someone else isn't valid. Do the best you can for you. And remember that once you take the first step, you've already done the hardest part! Starting small is the way to go. Small changes will slowly become big changes, and you won't realize that it has even happened until you look back and see how far you have come! 

What are some changes you hope to make in your life? How are you planning on getting started? Share in the comments! :)