Is there an area in your life where you would like to see change?   As a health and wellness advocate and as part of my health and wellness coach training program, I learned and experienced the power of how one small step can lead to big results through setting action steps.  By focusing on small things and taking consistent actionable steps, we can slowly build momentum and make progress towards larger goals.    Action steps need not be limited to health, so think about in what areas of your life YOU might want to see change. The sky is the limit!

The majority of research around health-related behaviors (Davis, Campbell, Hildon, Hobbs, & Michie, 2015) indicates that small changes can lead to enormous improvements in people’s health and life expectancy. These changes can also have effects on the health of others (Swann et al., 2010). Starting small is where it’s at!    This is the power of the small action step.  One of the key benefits of focusing on small action steps is that they are realistic and achievable. When we set goals that are too big, it can seem very overwhelming and maybe not even do-able. With small action steps, they are likely more realistic which gives us confidence that we can be successful in achieving them.  We can also build momentum by creating small action steps, as small successes can build confidence leading to more forward motion and successes for ourselves and maybe even spilling over to others.

Lower part of Business Working Woman in high heel shoes walking up stair at city outdoor, side view, Success and Motivation of Modern Female concept

Getting Started

In setting an action step, consider behavior change as your target rather than an outcome.  What does that mean?  If a long-term goal is to lose 20 pounds, rather than setting an action step of losing a few pounds each month over a period of time, consider setting the action step of eating a certain number of fruits and vegetables per day. Or exercising a minimum of 3 days per week. The focus is on the behavior and not the outcome.

Be SMART


Once you determine what behavior you want to include as your action step, use the SMART framework to put some teeth to your action steps.

SMART goals were developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham

in their 1981 article “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives.”  Setting SMART goals is a way of setting goals and objectives that are clear, trackable, and achievable. The acronym stands for five components your goals, objectives, or action steps should have:

Specific: Clearly defined and unambiguous outcomes.

Measurable: Quantifiable objectives to track progress.

Achievable: Realistic and attainable.

Relevant: Aligned with the mission or purpose.

Time-oriented: Set with a timeline in mind.

Here are some examples:

  1.  Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve. Instead of saying “I want to exercise more,” specify “I will walk for 30 minutes every morning.”
  2. Measurable: Set quantifiable criteria. For example, “I’ll save $500 by the end of the year.”
  3. Achievable: Be realistic. Don’t aim to run a marathon next week if you’ve never jogged before. Start with smaller steps.
  4. Relevant: Align your goals with your values and priorities. If health is important to you, focus on fitness or nutrition.
  5. Time-bound: Set deadlines. “I’ll read one book per month” is more effective than “I’ll read more each day.”

Tracking, Supports, Challenges and Barriers

In my health and wellness coaching, tracking, needed support, and challenges are part of the process.   How will you track your progress to know that you are successful? Being able to measure your outcomes will provide an opportunity to assess what your next steps might be.    Maybe you track via a log on your computer, using your smart phone or watch, or have a notebook by the bed.   It doesn’t matter how you track progress, as long as you do it!

Identifying supports needed to help you succeed with your action step is important. It might be a person serving as an accountability partner, a reminder on your phone if your action step needs to be done at a certain time, or maybe a quiet area if your action step requires a peaceful and calm environment. Identify what supports you need and how you might go about ensuring you have it.


Equally as important as identifying needed support is identifying possible challenges and barriers that might interfere with your success.  By identifying these early on, you can plan for how to counter them when they occur.  If your action step was to walk 5 days a week around your neighborhood for thirty minutes, what will you do if it rains?  Maybe you do an exercise video or go to an indoor track. Or maybe you switch your days.  

Resources Aplenty – Everybody’s Talking 

There is quite the buzz about change and the power of starting small.  A book on the best-sellers list right now is Atomic Habits by James Clear that focuses on small habits and creating change.  Clear acknowledges that small habits make a big difference.  The book emphasizes small consistent wins and outlines a framework for creating habits, noting that even a 1% improvement each day can lead to significant long-term results. There are plenty of other books, podcasts, webinars, and other resources on change, each with their own philosophies and approaches and much to explore in the area of creating positive change, and research as noted earlier that supports small change.  

Whether you start with “the basics” from this article on how to set a small action step or explore some of the many other resources available, change is possible and starting small is a great way to start. Best wishes on your journey of change through creating small, actionable steps that will get you on the path to big change and ultimately to where you want to be!

References:  

Davis, R., Campbell, R., Hildon, Z., Hobbs, L., & Michie, S. (2015). Theories of behaviour and behaviour change across the social and    behavioural sciences: A scoping review. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 323–344.

Doran, G.T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives.  Management review, 70.11 1981: 35

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (3.5 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Swann, C., Carmona, C., Ryan, M., Raynor, M., Baris, E., Dunsdon, S., & Kelly, M. P. (2010). Health systems and health-related behaviour change: A review of primary and secondary evidence. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.