{"id":93484,"date":"2026-01-22T14:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/?p=93484"},"modified":"2026-09-26T23:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T21:28:26","slug":"1-veraenderung-warum-kleine-schritte-manchmal-die-groesste-wirkung-haben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/1-percent-change-why-small-steps-sometimes-have-the-greatest-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"1% change \u2013 why small steps sometimes have the greatest impact"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A personal event review from a trainer\u2019s perspective<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLast night at Schaltzeit, we had one of those evenings where I thought on the way home: it is good that we take the time for this. No classic workshop, no performance space, no \u201cnow we are going to optimize you.\u201d Instead, a gathering at a social place where people think together about change \u2013 quietly, honestly, sometimes even contradictory.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What it was about<\/h3>

The topic of the evening was 1% thinking<\/strong>: how can we take big goals seriously without overwhelming ourselves? And how can mini-steps<\/strong> be designed so that they actually change something \u2013 in everyday life, not just in our heads?<\/p>

It was important to us, especially at the beginning of the year, to create a light entry point. Many come from Decembers with open to-do lists, half-finished projects, and the feeling of needing to catch up first. This is exactly where 1% thinking starts: big ambitions provide direction \u2013 small steps create movement.<\/p>

The (conversation) space makes the difference<\/h3>

The evening did not thrive on the method alone. The real added value emerged from the exchange<\/strong>. Different people, different life realities, different themes of change \u2013 and yet similar patterns kept appearing: too many goals at once, saying yes too often, too little recognition of what is already working.<\/p>

Even in the opening ritual \u2013 the Dialog Walk \u2013 it became clear how much clarity emerges when you speak your thoughts out loud. The question was simple: Welche Ver\u00e4nderungen m\u00f6chtest du dieses Jahr angehen \u2013 und warum gerade diese? <\/em>Viele merkten dabei schon: Es gibt mehrere Ziele, aber nicht alle sind gerade gleich wichtig.<\/p>

Small steps are not trivial<\/h3>

In the collective gathering, it quickly became clear what mini-steps are made of:<\/p>

  • Sie sind machbar<\/strong> und schnell umsetzbar.<\/li>
  • Sie erzeugen sichtbares Feedback<\/strong> \u2013 sonst nehmen wir sie gar nicht ernst.<\/li>
  • They are motivating because they enable action rather than just formulating intentions.<\/li>
  • Small steps are easy to forget if they aren't appreciated. That's why goals and directions need to be roughly defined. A vision board is sufficient for this.<\/li><\/ul>

    One participant captured it with an image: a ladder with enormous rungs is intimidating. A ladder with small, irregular rungs may look less \u201cperfect,\u201d but it actually gets you to the top.<\/p>

    Besonders spannend fand ich die Diskussion dar\u00fcber, dass Ver\u00e4nderung oft nicht durch mehr Tun<\/em>, sondern durch Weglassen<\/strong> entsteht. Ein Beispiel aus der Runde: Wer weniger Auto fahren will, k\u00f6nnte bewusst keine Winterreifen aufziehen \u2013 und zwingt sich damit, Alternativen zu nutzen. Provokant, aber wirksam.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Thinking with your hands: LEGO\u00ae Serious Play\u00ae<\/h3>

    With LEGO\u00ae Serious Play\u00ae, we created the transition from talking to grasping. The assignment was clear: Build a model that shows a small but real step that brings you closer to a change.<\/em><\/p>

    No end state, no ideal image \u2013 just the next step. The models that emerged told very different stories: letting go of baggage, conscious pauses, clear boundaries, small rituals for focus or relaxation. Some celebrated their start into the year, others showed how much old baggage still lingers. There was room for both.<\/p>

    Naming the models was almost as important as building them. One word, a short sentence \u2013 something that captures the core. This condensation helps you find the step again later, when everyday life gets louder.<\/p>

    How do you sustain small changes?<\/h3>

    In the large sharing round, similar questions kept coming up:<\/p>

    • How do I do a self check-in?<\/li>
    • How do I track progress without controlling myself?<\/li>
    • Why do I give a trusted person the mandate to ask me uncomfortable questions?<\/li>
    • How do I keep the big goal visible while taking small steps?<\/li>
    • How do I prevent new tasks from steamrolling old intentions?<\/li><\/ul>

      The answers were varied: journaling, visual tracking, random rewards, accountability partners, filler phrases to buy time (\u201cI need to think about that some more\u201d). What mattered wasn't the perfect method, but the conscious shaping of one's own change process. This also includes manifestation: I imagine the desired end state. What does it feel like when I've reached my goal?<\/p>

      The real added value<\/h3>

      In the end, it was clear to me again: the greatest effect of such evenings comes not from input, but from collective thinking<\/strong>. People throw their topics into the room, others think along, mirror, add. Everyone goes home with something different \u2013 but nobody leaves empty-handed.<\/p>

      A nice detail on the side: our school intern Samira was there and was amazed that adults use their free time to reflect on personal development. This observation alone shows how special such spaces are.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      \n\t\t\t\t\u201cTwo thoughts from yesterday evening that have stayed with me: 1) The bigger the goal, the smaller and more deliberate the steps I should take. 2) Dealing with and overcoming human inertia takes energy. How much energy do I have right now \u2014 how many goals or changes can I tackle at once? What has priority \u2014 and what can wait until later?\u201d\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChristine Br\u00e4unig \u2013 www.olea.training<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Genau diese Fragen sind es, die f\u00fcr mich den Kern des 1 %-Abends treffen. Mein Fazit: <\/strong>Minischritte sind kein R\u00fcckzug aus Ambition. Sie sind ihr Betriebssystem. Und manchmal reicht 1 %, um wieder ins Gehen zu kommen.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Last night at Schaltzeit, we had one of those evenings where I thought on the way home: it is good that we take the time for this. No classic workshop, no performance space, no \u201cnow we are going to optimize you.\u201d Instead, a gathering at a social place where people think together about change \u2013 quietly, honestly, sometimes even contradictory.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":93487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[263,264,261,262,265],"ppma_author":[307],"class_list":["post-93484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veranstaltungen","tag-1prozent","tag-foresight","tag-futuresthinking","tag-legoseriousplay","tag-schaltzeit"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":307,"user_id":17,"is_guest":0,"slug":"andrewinzersz","display_name":"Andr\u00e9 Winzer","avatar_url":"http:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-Andre-w_1920px-96x96.jpg","author_category":"","first_name":"Andr\u00e9","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":"The formal head of the company, but generally happier to dive headfirst into new challenges. His switch is set to \u201cmain\u201d, his range of action preferably to \u201csimultaneous\u201d. He passionately analyzes & interprets business models. His workshops and talks revolve around the theme of \u201cPreparing for Tomorrow\u201d. He likes to show that business models can easily be transferred to other industries."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98858,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93484\/revisions\/98858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93484"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=93484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}