I heard of the book in September 2016 through Game Quitters. Cam compiled a list of activities to pursue in place of video gaming; he recommended starting a reading habit with Jeff Olson’s The Slight Edge. I decided to finally take a step towards building this hobby in late February.
The book is split into (1) How the Slight Edge Works and (2) Living the Slight Edge. The Slight Edge told me what I already knew but didn’t necessarily believe or implement. With that in mind, here’s what I’ll be taking away:
The little things you do every day won’t have an effect in the short-term, but doing them every day will eventually compound into much larger consequences. This slight edge doesn’t only refer to the results of partaking in healthy and positive habits each day but also to the downward spirals that can accompany sticking to negative habits over an extended period of time.
Success doesn’t come overnight – it’s usually the result of long-term progress, the light at the end of a tunnel through which you must continue walking each day. You can’t skip right to the fun stuff without putting in your part.
Most people, including me, oscillate between failure and first signs of success, stopping either intentionally or unintentionally because of thinking those initial results are “good enough.” Little did I know that if I had just continued going to the gym or eating healthy or reading every day, I could have broken the invisible ceiling I imposed on myself and reached true, here-to-stay success.
Do the thing, and you shall have the power. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have kept on waiting until I’m in a role of authority, one with a title as permission of what I want to be doing or what I can do. If I keep waiting, I could be waiting for the rest of my life. I can do now what I want to or should be doing, and the power will come as a result.
I have a goal. I know what I have to do to get there. To quote Nike, Just do it! There’s no shortcut that’s going to magically appear the longer I wait. If I procrastinate doing it, it won’t take me a shorter time later, so I might as well start now. I won’t know if I can’t until I try. Start small.
Live simply, and know the why for living the way you do. Your philosophy will affect everything else in your life.
Chapter 17 addresses setting clear goals, defining a plan, and picking a simple daily discipline for seven key areas in our lives. The disciplines I have chosen are below:
- Health: Stretch / practice yoga
- Happiness: Control how I react, not how others act
- Relationships: Do small kindnesses, especially for my family
- Personal development: Read one chapter of a book or listen to a podcast episode
- Finances: Avoid impulse purchases and eating out
- Career: Achieve one critical to-do
- Positive impact to the world: Write for my blog
It’s in part due to the slight edge that I consistently go to the gym, have started reading a few pages every day, and am listening to personal development / informational podcasts regularly. Like I said, I already knew a lot of the concepts but reading testimonies and stories of others’ journeys served as motivation for me to start doing my part.
I highly recommend checking out The Slight Edge. There’s much more to it than what I’ve covered here and all of which is valuable. Let me know what you think.