So, what is The Waterfall Effect?

Have you ever changed one area of your life and found it impact another?

This can sometimes feel good and sometimes not so much. For example, once I was struggling with sleep. I’d got into a bad habit of checking my work emails before bed (no wonder I was struggling to get to sleep and then waking in the night with work on my mind!). Within a few days I noticed that I was feeling more stressed. I was more irritable. I was struggling to concentrate. My sleep had started to have a Waterfall Effect on other parts of my life.

I wish it was as easy as flicking a switch

Often with lifestyle change, there is a misnomer that you need to reinvent yourself overnight. Go from frazzled mess to chic together with the flick of a switch.

Sadly it’s not as easy as flicking a switch, but it’s also not as hard as some make out. It doesn’t HAVE to be ‘all or nothing’. Making small changes (in the right places) can have The Waterfall Effect of impacting other areas.

Small Changes = Big Results

So, if you take the example above, as soon as I made the small habit change of turning my email off an hour before bed (and in doing so I realised that no email is so urgent it can’t wait until daylight and Asia can live without me for 10 hours – who knew!) my sleep improved. This had the knock on impact of making me less irritable, more able to cope with stress and more focused. These you may expect, however it also had the unexpected impact of me improving what I was eating for breakfast. As I woke up feeling refreshed I guess I was in a better mindset to choose nourishing food AND have the time to do so.

The Waterfall Effect

Pick one habit in the right place (normally if you’re really honest with yourself you’ll know where this is) and see what else it impacts. Focus on this one thing until it becomes effortless and then pick the next area to focus on.

Suggestions include:

• improving sleep
• adding in mini relaxations throughout the day (breathing, mindfulness, meditation – there are more ideas in the free The Energy Book if you struggle with this)
• having a nourishing breakfast rich in protein and fibre
• drinking plenty of water
• walking more

What will you pick?

If you enjoyed this article you may also like:

• Do You Get Enough? (sleep that is)
• Do You Need More Energy?
• Why are you stressed? Perhaps it’s because of The Technology Effect