Create The Best Me

Make SMALL CHANGES for BIG RESULTS in Your Life Today

• Carmen Hecox • Episode 113

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Have you ever promised yourself that change would start “tomorrow”—whether that’s working out, tackling spring cleaning, or finally building a good habit? In “Transform Your Life Today: Small Steps, Big Results,” I’m sharing my proven, step-by-step approach to stop procrastinating and create the transformation you deserve—starting right now.

This episode is all about making change simple, sustainable, and realistic. You’ll learn exactly how to choose your most important goals, break them into bite-sized habits, and weave them naturally into your everyday life—no more overwhelm, guilt, or setting yourself up for failure with drastic changes.

If you’re ready to finally see real progress and celebrate the best version of YOU, then don’t wait another day. Dive in and let’s take that very first (small but powerful) step together!

5 Key Lessons:

  1. Slow and Steady Wins the Race:
    Drastic changes lead to burnout. Consistency and small actions create lifelong habits.
  2. Prioritize What Matters Most:
    Make a clear list, rate each goal by importance and emotional impact, then focus on ONE thing—it’s the secret to building momentum.
  3. Identify Natural “Tails” in Your Routine:
    Find tiny pockets of time and attach your new habit to something you already do for a seamless, stress-free transition.
  4. Chunk Down Big Projects:
    Overwhelmed by a huge goal? Break it into bite-sized actions—like 30-minute closet cleanouts or one-room-at-a-time painting sessions.
  5. Self-Compassion and Resetting:
    If you stumble or miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Commit to starting again—whether it’s tomorrow or even right now. 

Call to Action: 

Ready for more practical, step-by-step inspiration? Dive deeper into “Transform Your Life Today: Small Steps, Big Results” at https://createthebestme.com/ep113 

👉 If this episode inspired you, please like, comment, and subscribe. Let’s transform your life together—one small, meaningful step at a time!

Related Episodes:

🎧 Listen to these episodes: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1949561/episodes/17040186  

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1949561/episodes/16613350 

 

#CreateTheBestMe #SmallStepsBigResults #HabitBuilding #PersonalDevelopment #Transformation #HealthyHabits #Motivation #MidlifeWomen #RoutineHacks #WomenOver40 #WomenOver50

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Have you ever told yourself, tomorrow I'm gonna start working out? Or maybe you just want to do some much needed spring cleaning, but have no idea where to start. Today, I will share with you how you can begin to take action and start implementing those changes not tomorrow, but today. But before we get started, the number one rule you must follow is not to make any drastic changes. Making drastic changes is the easiest way to fail. So we're not gonna talk about making drastic changes. We're here to make life-long lasting changes. List all the things or habits you'd like to implement. Then rate them by levels of importance. Then ask yourself, why is this important to me? How will this make me feel? If you can't put your feelings into words, then maybe use a scale from one to five. One is no feelings at all, and five is fantastic, amazing. Use, whatever word is your motivational word. Next I want you to visualize your day from the minute you wake up until you go to bed. What are your habits or the things you do without any thought? Almost like you're an autopilot. Most of us wake up generally around the same time and go to bed around the same time unless we're engaged in some kind of thing that keeps us up longer than usual. What we are looking for here are potential gaps or times when we can add things naturally. I like to refer to them as tales. Tales are opportunities to add habits or tasks without feeling weighted down. Now go back to your list and begin to rearrange and prioritize. Here's where the hard part comes in. This may sound difficult because everything on our list is important to us, but pick one thing from that list. Now that you've narrowed it down to the one thing or habit you'd like to implement, let's find time to work this into your day. Let's say you would like to begin a walking routine. Maybe you can do that before you leave for work. If that's the case, let's say you like to drink one or two cups of coffee before you begin your drive to work. Could you maybe drink while you're driving to work and take a walk first thing in the morning? Or maybe during your lunch break? Is eating at your desk before or after lunch an option, so that you can take a walk? Or if you live with someone like a spouse, partner, or roommate, walking after dinner is a way of unwinding, connecting, helping burn calories and de-stress. I want you to start slow. Remember, slow and steady always wins the race. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The key here is to take one habit and apply it to something you already do. This is why I strongly suggest starting slow and only doing one thing at a time. This is simply an example, but I love taking nutritional supplements. Some require an empty stomach while others require food. So I take the supplements that require an empty stomach as soon as I walk into the kitchen in the morning. I take the supplements that require food with my dinner. Typically I will take them before I eat so that I don't have to worry should I overeat lord, help me, I don't want to force myself to try to take them when I absolutely cannot eat anything else. This is also my hack to ensure I won't overeat because I need to drink plenty of water to get my supplements down. The other thing I do is place my supplements in the kitchen where they are visible. I know this may be an eyesore for some and maybe even a little cluttery or messy, so I place them in a basket so that I can put them away if I have guests come over. But because they are visible, I know I will take them every morning and evening with dinner. Another example, let's say you have much needed spring cleaning, like cleaning out a closet or another area of your home, or you'd like to paint a room or your entire house. Now these projects are really big. Big projects can make you feel like you need to go on vacation to get them done, or hire a team of people to help you get through it all over the weekend. And yeah, you can do that, but I don't know about you, but sometimes I find that having too many hands in one project can create more work than if you just did it yourself. So here's where you break down the project into bite-sized projects. If it's cleaning out your closet because you need to get rid of a bunch of clothing, start small, maybe place a donation box in your closet, and every morning when you're getting ready for work, if you come across something that needs to go, toss it into the box.

But here's the catch:

look at your calendar and commit to spending 30 minutes one day a week just going through your closet. Put on your headphones. Listen to your favorite podcast like this one, or turn on the jams and a timer, if you'd like, and you'll soon discover that your 30 minutes will zoom on by. But when your donation box gets filled up, drop it off at your charity of choice. Don't let that box sit in your closet. It's okay to make small weekly donations rather than one large donation. Before you know it, you'll discover that your closet is clean and you can move on to another project, and it took minimal effort. If you're painting a room or your entire house, break it down into small rooms and dedicate one day on a weekend to painting only one room. If you have family members, encourage them to help, or invite some friends over and make it a social painting party. Your painting project will be completed faster than you expected. So about six years ago, I told my husband I wanted to start a YouTube and podcast show, but I had no idea where to start. So I signed up for a course on online business, copywriting, SEO, podcasting, and so many other courses. After spending so much money and time learning everything I felt I needed to know before I could start, I'd sit in my office and ask myself, well, what do I do first? And to be honest with you, I would spend hours in this office starting small projects that would amount to nothing, and at the end of the week I was filled with guilt because I had nothing to show for sitting in this office for 10 hours a day. So, I wrote down everything I wanted to get done. I reviewed my list and asked myself, why is this important and what would be the end result of doing this thing on my list, would it get me closer to meeting my long-term goal? If the answer was yes, then I organized each thing by how it would lead me to the next. Slowly, I began to develop a workflow that created a sort of

sequence:

when this happens, then this other thing must follow. Yes, it became a habitual workflow that ensured that by the end of the week I would walk out of my office with results that made me feel good and resulted in one published episode. And I published my first episode on December 29th, 2022. So, this is what my morning looks like. I take my supplements, make my daughter her lunch for school. I feed my dogs. Then my husband and I walk 3.5 miles. Then I begin my workday. I also carve out time to spend with my family or have lunch, dinner, or a social gathering with a friend. Self-care and leisure is very important for our own personal growth. So the key here is to start very small and do your best to take action daily. If you forget to take action, that's okay; commit to starting over again tomorrow, or better yet, right now. Trust me, this will get easier. Once you feel comfortable implementing one habit or thing, find time gaps to add something else naturally. Again, the key here is to make small, easy shifts or changes by taking small action, you're off to becoming the best you today and the better you tomorrow. If today's episode inspired you, please like it, comment below and subscribe. If you'd like to learn more about today's episode, head on over to createthebestme.com/ep113. Until then, keep dreaming big and begin making small, easy shifts or changes daily. I'll catch you next week. Bye for now.