Incremental Change is a jargon used in HR Strategy formulation, Change Management Seminars and among OD Consultants. And, these days under the banner of economic recession, Incremental Change is also considered as an alternative to downsizing! What can Incremental Change do to you and me in our personal development? I don’t wish to attempt defining Incremental Change. But, it definitely has the potential to do wonders! We declare New Year resolutions every year (infact many people like me, I guess!). This habit of declaring resolutions also end up declaring a war against your own self. Some resolutions are harsh, and some call for determination isolated from practical implications and more often than not we surrender to our own desires and weaknesses.

One solution that I have discovered is to try the magic of Incremental Change. For the first day of the year, I set my alarm clock at 5.45 AM and as decided in the previous night, I woke up with a spring start! The second day, 02-01-2009, the alarm clock was set at 5.44 AM, a minute earlier and I did not feel the pain. What I feel at this point of time is that I would be able to sustain this tactic for about three months. I wish I could do it for the whole year and end up waking up 365 minutes (six hours?) earlier than the first day of the year (5.45 AM). Human mind may bear this Incremental Change, as waking up one minute earlier may not call for major psychological adjustments. But will my body adapt with that in the long run is a massive cause for concern.

One rule that I have clearly defined is that no matter what time I go to bed, waking up on time is one big discipline I need to sustain. I could go to bed at 8pm or 3am in the morning. But I should wake up one minute earlier than the previous morning. I have decided to try this out for a month and review it after a month. Waking up thirty one minutes earlier by the end of January 2009 can do wonders to me as I would have created thirty one extra minutes (186 extra seconds) and every extra minute early in the morning brings in a lot of life in me.

I’m grateful to my destiny that this idea struck me so early in the year.

The silence of the dawn drives my spirit to ecstasy! …..