People often think that creating change is about engaging in a major life overhaul: Quit the job, end the relationship, relocate to a new city, revamp the environment.

I used to be one of those people until I realized that creating change is a quite simple process after all—one which is incremental, not revolutionary. It’s about getting very clear about what you want—what makes you happy, what gives you meaning—and then taking consistent action to make it happen.

It really is that simple.

And it begins with making the decision—the commitment—to change.

In 2017, after leaving her 9-5 Goldie, and while searching for a new one, Goldie Chan started making videos about branding and marketing and posting them daily on her LinkedIn profile. Her videos gained traction and her popularity on the platform began to soar. She eventually ended up creating over 800 consecutive daily videos.

Today, three years later, Goldie Chan is the founder and CEO of Warm Robots, a boutique branding strategy agency, and one of LinkedIn’s top Influencers.

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear explains how in November 2012, he began publishing articles on his personal blog. He committed to a writing schedule that would allow him to publish two articles per week, on Mondays and Thursdays. He was consistent for an entire three years, until the end of 2015 when he was offered a massive book deal for Atomic Habits (and so his focus shifted from publishing online articles to writing his book).

Today, James Clear has become a thought leader on habit building and has already sold over two million copies of his book.

At the turn of the year, the change I wanted to create for myself was to publish at least three articles per week. I committed, designed an environment that would allow me to stay consistent, and got started. Eight months later, I’ve now published 110 articles. Not bad for a newbie writer, right?

How to Change Your Life With Commitment and Consistency

If we compare the stories of Goldie Chan and James Clear, we find a common theme: They both got very clear about what they wanted, they committed to the decision and the frequency of actions they needed to take, and then they made sure to start small and stay consistent. Which means that if you want to create change in your life, you need to follow these three simple steps:

1. Clarify the change you want to create. What is it you want to change? And what needs to fall into place to make it happen? Again, this isn’t about figuring out your entire life and what’s ahead; it’s about identifying what you enjoy doing, what you’re good at, and what you want to improve on—what gives you meaning—and leaning into it, today. Chan wanted to make videos and Clear wanted to write. What do you want?

2. Commit to this change. Commitment is the decision you make. It’s the bridge between thought and action. Here’s what it sounds like: “This is what I want (or this is who I want to become), this is what I’m going to do about it, this is when (or how often) I’m going to do it.” In Chan’s case, it was: “I want to create videos on branding. I’m going to record one every day and post it on LinkedIn.” In Clear’s case, it was: “I want to write articles and I’m going to publish twice a week on my blog.” Neither one of them knew what the outcome would be, they simple outlined the process and committed to it.

3. Consistently repeat that action. Once you are clear on what you want, what you need to do, and how often you must do it, now’s the time to build yourself a system, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Consistency is where the magic happens. In the first two steps, you are in motion—preparing for the change to begin. Consistency is where you are in action—making the change happen. Your goal is to spend 80% of your time in action and 20% of your time in motion.

Decide Who You Want to Become

This bias for commitment and consistency has been echoed by ancient thinkers alike.

Confucius famously wrote:

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones… It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.”

In a Manual for Living, Stoic Philosopher Epictetus wrote:

“First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.”

In other words, to create change, you must begin with a commitment to small actions, repeated consistently. First, get clear on what you want (what you would be), then commit to it and stay consistent (do what you have to do).

As you walk the path, reflect on your progress, and pay attention to the signs, answers begin to reveal themselves to you. As you build momentum, opportunities begin to flow your way. You literally witness your growth unravel in front of you.

The “amateur” Goldie Chan at video number 10 was totally different from the “professional” Goldie Chan at video number 300. Her commitment and consistency honed her video editing, public speaking, personal branding, and storytelling skills until she became unrecognizable by her former self.

It’s the same case with James Clear. Who he was before his first article and who he had become after his three years of consistent article-publishing were two different people. One was a rookie, the other had evolved.

They both transformed. Chan went from a lost unemployed job-seeker into a well-respected influencer entrepreneur. Clear went from a twice-a-week-writer to a two-million-copies-sold best selling author.

Neither one knew what the outcome would be, but both chose who they wanted to become and followed through with it. One chose to become a video-based storyteller and in the process transformed into an expert in personal branding; the other chose to become a writer and in the process transformed into an expert in habit-building.

This is exactly why creating transformative change begins from a place of identity but manifests into real life through the practice of consistency.

As James Clear explains:

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become… No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity.”

So ask yourself this question:

Who do I want to become?

And follow it up with another: What do I need to do every day to validate that?

Stay The Course and Give Yourself Time

There’s one caveat though: You must commit to that one thing, not for a month, or six, or a year. It must be something you are willing to stick with for at least three, four, or five years in order to begin to reap the benefits. You plant the seed today, water it every day, but it will take a few years for it to sprout into a tree that bears fruit. Why? Because good things take time.

So this is something I remind myself of every single day, and you should too:

I have time, there is no rush. I am building slowly, through stability.

I call it the “One Day at a Time” philosophy.

As long as you stay the course, continue to work on what matters, reflect and evaluate your progress, and make adjustments as you go, you will get somewhere. So give yourself the time to learn, experiment, fail, and grow.

For Goldie Chan, her commitment and consistency won her a top influencer rank on LinkedIn and a business of her own where she now teaches what she learned throughout her journey. For James Clear, his commitment and consistency won him a book deal, a “habit expert” status, and an eventual book that became a New York Times Bestseller. And neither one of them achieved those successes overnight.

As for me? Well, time will tell. But I can assure you of this: As I continue to stay consistent in my writing practice, my knowledge and understanding of philosophy and psychology compounds (given that self-development is the topic I read and write about), my writing and storytelling skillset improves, my confidence as a writer amplifies, and my readership and newsletter subscribers grow by the day.

The message is really simple: Commitment is what gets you started. Consistency is what gets you somewhere. Give yourself time, commit to one thing, and stay consistent in it.

Embrace this perspective, believe it, and live by it.

What Matters to You

As I said earlier, creating change isn’t hard, we make it so.

What Confucius wrote thousands of years ago still holds true today:

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

There’s no need for an overhaul to change your life because sustainable change happens in small, repeated, incremental steps, not big, giant, infrequent leaps. So begin right here, right now, exactly where you are:

1. Get clear on what you want to create (and who you want to become).

2. Commit to that one thing.

3. Choose a frequency, and stay consistent.

Your confidence and competence will grow with every new step. And one day at a time, your life will begin to change for the better.