The-Slight-Edge

living the Slight Edge 171
My simple daily discipline for my health is to exercise for at least half an hour.
When I started doing this, I have to admit, it didn’t thrill me. That first
day I went running was a real drag. I’d let myself go physically; it was harder
than I’d expected it would be. That first day I ran for only about ten minutes;
then over the next several weeks, I slowly worked my way up to my daily half
hour. But even before that first week was over, I actually felt better than I had
in months.
I usually say that the Slight Edge does not work quickly, but the truth is
that often you’ll get positive results fairly quickly. You may not achieve your
ultimate goal in a week, a month or even a year or two, but you’ll see the
positive changes far sooner than you might expect. That’s the way it was with
my running.
I’ve said that successful people are willing to do those things unsuccessful
people are not. And sometimes those things are uncomfortable. There is always
a price you pay, and for me the price included my initial discomfort. But that
price was quickly paid in full, and within weeks that discomfort faded. Now I’m
uncomfortable when I don’t run!
Another great example comes from The Slight Edge reader Amber Thiel of
Seattle. Her friend adamantly recommended The Slight Edge to her. As she read
the book, she knew why her friend had put the book into her hands, she was a living
example of applying the Slight Edge principles toward health. Here is her story:
The principles in The Slight Edge exemplified the EXACT approach
we were using to teach people how to get to their ideal health and weight.
We focused on empowering people to make small decisions every day, taking
the focus away from the scale and focusing on the journey instead. It’s not
the one unhealthy meal or one skipped workout that causes you to gain 25
pounds; it’s the daily unhealthy decisions that add up over the course of a
year or two that causes the 25 pounds.
The same principle applies to release 25 pounds. It’s not one or two
healthy decisions, but the compounding effect of daily healthy decisions
over a long period of time. Soon after reading The Slight Edge, we decided
to launch our “home health seminars” into a business that now touches
individuals and families all over the world in their health. The name for
our company became The Healthy Edge, inspired by The Slight Edge.
The foundation of The Healthy Edge is five daily goals that, when done
consistently, transform people’s health, attitude, esteem and weight.
—Amber Thiel, Seattle, WA