Updated 2014.

It’s interesting how we categorize people into smokers and non-smokers.

You’re in or you’re out, with us or against us, black or white. Whether you smoke a stick a day or a pack a day, you’re a smoker. This, in my opinion, plays a role in inadvertently encouraging light smokers to become heavier smokers over time. It allows for a “No matter how many people I kill, they can only hang me once,” mentality.

If you don’t quit smoking totally, you’re still a smoker.

Any relapse is perceived to be a sign of complete failure on the smoker’s part. This is part of why so many people struggle to quit smoking. Smokers go two or three days without smoking, get overwhelmed with withdrawal symptoms, return to their former habits. This seems rather inefficient to me.

We don’t think enough about the power of marginal differences.

If a smoker smokes ten sticks a day, and cuts down to nine sticks a day, that makes a difference. It’s a small difference, but it’s still a difference.

If he stubs out his cigarettes half a centimetre further from the end than usual, that makes a difference. It’s progress, and it’s something to be proud of.

Similarly, if you spend 5 minutes  a day stretching and doing a few pushups and situps, that’s progress over doing nothing at all.

Marginal differences accumulate over time.

• A quick 10 minute jog around the block is easier to do than a 5km run.
•  A hug and a kiss is easier to do than a weekend getaway.
• If you make it a habit to wear your sports shoes and go for a short walk every day, you’ll find that jogging and running come much easier later on.

Marginal differences have far less inertia than big ones- meaning they’re a lot easier to do, and a lot easier to sustain, as well. 90% of success is showing up, getting started and sticking with it.

I’m not saying that big gestures and efforts don’t count. Of course they count. But they’re harder to do. If you’re stuck in a rut (and all of us have our own ruts) and trying to make some changes, it’s always easier to start small. Your odds of success are substantially higher.

So is there anything you want to do?

• Do you want to get fitter?
• Do you want to become a writer, or a musician?
• Do you want to quit smoking?
• Get a girlfriend?
• Be a better friend, son or person?

Excellent. Start with marginal differences- you’ll be surprised how much little things can make a big difference.

Of course, this just a starting point. To return to the smoking analogy- if you’ve managed to cut down from 10 cigarettes a day to 9 a day for a month, the idea is to cut down from 9 per day to 8 per day the next month. If progress is desired, stagnation is to be reviled and conscientiousness is key. Happy progress!