Disproportionate impact

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A key focus of my work as a nutrition coach is helping people identify areas of disproportionate impact (DI) within their day to day.

An example of disproportionate impact is;

Every January we see countless people join gyms in an effort to improve health. They do this because fitness has a disproportionate impact in these initial stages of change.

When we exercise, we tend to see corollary attention given to improved nutrition because people want to support the gains they are making in the gym. Additionally, exercise helps us use up our energy and helps us feel tired and so are more likely to go to bed and sleep better as a result. Finally, exercise has a positive impact on stress management and mental well-being as it creates a cascade of positive hormonal changes within the body, helping us feel better psychologically as well as physically. Add to this the more tangible feelings of seeing change (you don’t feel immediately awesome when you get a salad instead of a burger), and joining the gym becomes an obvious and accessible catalyst for change.

What's the lesson for you?

Don’t try and get better at everything all at once. Focus your limited resources on the area of disproportionate impact in your own life, paying attention to the downstream effects in parallel areas.