Have you ever thought about the tremendous impact one small change can have on an outcome or meaning? Consider the words hail and fail, for example, or the words hire and fire. In both cases, just a single letter (“h” versus “f”) separates their spelling, yet each is worlds apart in meaning.
Make a brilliant decision or positive impression, and you’re likely to get hired and hailed. Make a lousy decision or negative impression, and you could just as easily find yourself fired and labeled as having failed.
The idea of small, seemingly insignificant events affecting much larger outcomes is hardly new. The whole notion of the butterfly effect is based on just that premise. The flapping of a single butterfly’s wings, the theory holds, can affect a hurricane’s formation. That tiny, barely noticeable breeze, coupled with the right conditions, can build and grow, like a snowball rolling downhill in a Looney Tunes adventure. And if you aren’t careful, you could end up like Daffy Duck or whichever other unfortunate character finds themselves at the bottom of that hill.
As you look back on your life, career, or business, what moments stand out to you? Oftentimes, it’s something so small it goes by unnoticed when it happens. Your decision to take a certain class in college, for example, that led you to a teacher who became a mentor in your life. Or the decision to bypass your usual coffee shop one morning, which led to a chance encounter with a potential client or now dear friend. In hindsight, we can point out the significance of such moments, but at the time, they often seem small and unimportant.
So the next time you’re facing a decision or looking for a change in perspective, think about the little things. And remember that even the most seemingly insignificant change you make right now can have a big impact on your life or business somewhere down the line.