Plant the Seeds of Greatness with Tiny Actions and Small Steps

January is all about setting resolutions — big goals, new habits, and fresh starts that focus on one of the five core pillars of our life: Work, Friends, Family, Health and Food & Sleep. But what happens after the excitement fades? That’s where February and March come in — and Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month with it. These months encourage us to take small, consistent actions that, over time, add up to remarkable results.

The Power of Tiny Actions

Let’s take reading as an example, in February, for easy calculation. If you read for just 15 minutes a day last month, that’s 84 hours of learning, growing, or enjoying books in a year — all from setting aside 15 minutes a day (see image). This principle applies to any of the core pillars of our life. Start small, and greatness follows.

In life, we all juggle issues around these five essential pillars:

• Work

• Friends

• Family

• Health

• Food & Sleep

  
  

Let me introduce you to five friends — Willa, Frilla, Fella, Hella, and Ella. They met after a long time at a school reunion and started talking about their core pillars of life. Each of them had struggles in one area or the other.

Willa felt overwhelmed at work, and her tiny action was to write down her top 3 priorities every morning.

Frilla was losing touch with her friends, so she committed to call or text one friend every weekend.

Fella had some family communication issues which were addressed by scheduling a weekly family dinner.

Hella was neglecting her fitness, which affected her health, so she now walks 10 minutes every morning.

Ella’s poor sleep habits had an impact not only on her rest, but her diet, so she turns off all screens one hour before bed.

Small Steps Create Greatness

The friends agreed to take these tiny actions and meet again next month to see what has changed. The beauty of Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month is this — you don’t need to make massive changes all at once. It’s the small, daily seeds you plant that grow into real change.

Look for opportunities to hit multiple targets with a single effort

I started to listen to audiobooks/podcast while running. This way, I am able to hit two birds with one stone – my cardio of the day, running, is completed and gaining knowledge from my audiobooks/podcast is a more efficient use of my time.

What’s Your Tiny Action?

You may think, I missed the February train to start the tiny action. The truth is, it’s never too late to start. Think about your pillars — work, friends, family, health, food & sleep. What’s one small action you can begin today to improve one of the core pillars?

Share your tiny action in the comments below and inspire others to plant their own seeds of greatness!

If you are interested in tracking your tiny actions and supporting one another as a small group, we could definitely do that together.

The Future of Connection for Women

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Shanthi Mariappan

I am Shanthi, and I have been in the IT industry for 18+ years. I was looking for a platform to share my knowledge with other female friends and learn from other girls, then I found Her Nexx Chapter. America is a land of opportunity, even though I had a lot of bumps in my career journey. I’m the Founder of the Stayfit4Health platform which constantly motivates and encourages female friends in their workouts and leverages the energy within each one of us. I help to translate your soft skills into leadership skills wearing a leadership lens, and I’m open to conducting mock interviews. My hobbies are cooking, running (half-marathon runner), cycling, swimming, hiking, and reading. I have climbed the Himalayas twice (Bakariya top and Mali pass).