“The butterfly effect is an idea from chaos theory. A small change can sometimes make much bigger changes happen. One small incident may have a big impact on the future. The emphasis here is on the words may and can. There is no general theory which tells us what is going to happen.” — Wikipedia
I’m writing this at 6:17 a.m. from my bed, still sleepy. I could go back to sleep or scroll down Twitter but I chose to write because I’m on day three of my seven-day writing challenge, and if I didn’t write now, it would be chaos all day. For example, I woke up late yesterday because I had a meeting with colleagues until midnight; I was supposed to complete my writing by 4 p.m, but it took until 6:40 pm. I skipped my daily workout because I had a class at 7 p.m., and I feel bad about it. All of this occurred because I began my day by going back to sleep rather than doing something productive. Today is the next day, and I want to do everything correctly.
The story above is an example of the butterfly effect. Everything you do has an impact on your life. Everyday habits have a big influence on the future. The popular quotes by James Clear said, “Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run.” You may not notice the impact right away, but it accumulates over time.
The butterfly effect is very close to us. In the previous blog, we discussed how small actions like buying goods at the local market or saving your money instead of using it to buy a cup of coffee have a big impact on the economy.
Another example is what we eat; eating excessive amounts of sugar, carbohydrates, salt, and so on is bad for our health. The substance will eventually settle in the body and cause disease. It’s difficult to control what we eat; I’m addicted to savory foods and am still trying to reduce my salt intake.
Knowing that all of your small actions will have an impact on the future, I believe the most important moment is right now. Be mindful of what you do, and do your best in everything, even if it would seem meaningless right now. A good thing will happen soon. Cheers!
