5 Powerful Ways the Ripple Effect Transforms Your Life

I started doing cold plunges in the fall.

I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I loved the challenge.

So I bought a big tub, filled it with water, and then set a goal to do a cold plunge every morning at 5am for 30 days.

It was hard.

Getting out of a warm bed into a cold tub has to be one of the worst ways to wake up.

Cold. Wet. First thing in the morning. Yuk.

One day turned into two. Two turned into three. Three turned into more.

It was really hard to stay consistent with it, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So I kept at it.

After 30 days, I felt pretty good about where I was. One month of waking up at 5am and getting into freezing cold water.

I noticed how facing a big hurdle early in the morning had other benefits:

• I was getting some deep breathing in
• I felt more calm throughout the day
• Little things didn’t bother me as much

This is the Ripple Effect of pursuing goals.

Once you make progress in one area, you start to notice it in others.

I was talking with one of my clients about this recently.

We’ve been working together on improving one area of his life and he’s noticed the Ripple Effect in action.

As he sees progress in this one area, he feels motivated. He is hopeful. He sees opportunities where before working together, he just felt frustrated and like he was at a dead-end.

But now, with this success, he wants to pursue more improvements in his life.

This is one of the reasons I love coaching: seeing the improvement in one area of your life has an impact on every other area of your life.

This is the Ripple Effect.

Here are 5 ways the Ripple Effect can have a profound impact on achieving your goals:

1. Creates momentum and confidence: knocking out those little goals can really get the ball rolling. It’s like ticking off tasks on a to-do list - feels good, right? And that’s because every tiny win is a confidence boost, a pat on the back that says “you can do this”.
2. Positive emotions are contagious: when you’re feeling all hopeful and confident because you’ve nailed your goals, this is felt by those around you. They see you win and in turn they want to win. This supportive environment further empowers you (and them) to keep striving.
3. More opportunities: achieving your goals create a ripple effect of new possibilities opening up for you - new connections, resources, skills, etc. This acts like an avalanche, with new opportunities helping you gain momentum.
4. Good habits reinforce each other: achieving your goals required good habits. Each good habit makes the next one easier to sustain. This causes a ripple effect of compounding habits that propels your personal growth.
5. Increased motivation: achieving goals boosts your self-belief, which improves motivation, productivity and ability to stay focused on subsequent goals. All of these help with your focus.

The Ripple Effect is just like dominos: each goal accomplished is fuel for the next goal.

This cycle enables you to dream bigger and achieve more goals over time.

Never underestimate the power of improving one area of your life can have on every other.

This week, I want you to think about one goal you’ve accomplished and how it had a positive impact on other areas of your life.

It could be:

• getting up earlier means you didn’t feel so rushed to work
• going for a daily walk made you feel less stressed
• practicing gratitude helps you to see all you have to be grateful for

Let me know what you come up with!

I’d love to hear.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Action Architect.

We'll see you next time.

Until then, take action this week to make your future self proud.

-Mike