Axiomatic Steps to Self-Respect đ
âThe soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.â â Marcus Aurelius
"Write down three small, achievable goals for the week. Simple ones. Nothing grandiose. As you accomplish each, reflect on the discipline, effort, and growth required to achieve them. What did it take? Notice how showing up for yourself changes the way you see, well, you."
I remember a time when everything felt like a mess. Too much. Too fast. Too loud. Chaos wasnât lurkingâit had kicked the door down and made itself at home.
Then I stumbled onto something.
Nothing flashy. Nothing dramatic.
Just this: Pick one small thing. Fix it. No grand gestures. No ânew year, new meâ nonsense. Just a quiet, steady shift.
It felt like that scene in The Karate Kid.
The dull, repetitive drills. Wax on. Wax off. Boringâuntil they werenât. Until the motions werenât just practice, but instinct. Until Daniel wasnât just some kid flailing around but someone with real skill, real control.
Thatâs how change works. You start small. You repeat. Eventually, it sticks. And when the foundation holds, everything above it has a fighting chance.
Hereâs the plan:
Select three tiny goals. Perhaps youâll do a five-minute morning stretch, spend ten minutes organizing that messy shelf, or whip up a nutritious meal at least once this week.
Write these tasks somewhere visible.
Each time you complete one, pause. Ask yourself: âHow did I feel in that moment? Did it shift my sense of responsibility toward my own life?â
This micro-commitment might look unremarkable, but it carries real weight. It underpins a new hierarchical structure of self-trust.
As you check off each item, notice the ripple.
Each accomplishment, no matter how small, introduces a spark of discipline that feeds your self-perception in an honest way.
âThe soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.â â Marcus Aurelius
Consider that your everyday actions paint the thoughts you carry with you. Each small victory adds a brighter hue to your inner world.
Ever fix one tiny thing and somehow set off a chain reaction?
You clear out one junk drawerânext thing you know, your whole life feels lighter. You take a deep breath, just one, and suddenly, your mind isnât a battlefield. Strange how that works.
Got a story like that? Spill it.
The wins, the missteps, the "well, that didnât go as planned" moments.
We figure things out faster when we compare notes.
Forget waiting for inspiration.
Itâs unreliable. Here one second, gone the next.
Effort, though, that sticks.
Do the thing. Show up. Keep a promise to yourself, no matter how small.
Thatâs how the rewiring starts. You stop being the person who overthinks and stall-outs. You become the one who moves, decides, follows through. And that shift is bigger than it looks.
So pick three goals. Lock them in. Follow through. Watch what happens. Bet on yourselfâyouâre a safer bet than you realize.
Keep moving. Keep pushing.
Every small step is pulling your future into focus.
â Ryan Puusaari