Unlike Keystone Habits, the concept of Thorn Changes is an idea that I’ve never read or heard of anyplace else. I hesitate to say I came up with it, because there’s nothing new under the sun, it’s just something that I’ve noticed in my life frequently enough to name.
So, my regular readers will know that husband and I finally turned our garage into a workshop for his magical forge. This involved cleaning it out — a huge endeavor — and adding cabinetry and work spaces. I talked about it here, and even referred to it as removing the thorn from our household. Frankly, the garage was strongly associated with a difficult time in our lives and the state is was in was also the result of that time. So yeah, it was a huge relief to get the cleanup done and, like removing a thorn, it improved lots of other stuff in our household (including the energy and feel of the house itself).
We recently made another household-based Thorn Change — we got a shed! I know, probably no one else is as excited about this as I am, but I’m very excited. We’ve needed a shed for a number of years, but it really became an issue recently as the forging took off for Bryn (which is the name of my husband, in case you’re curious, and I’m sharing it because his site is going to launch at some point and I’m going to pimp the hell out of it). We finally had it installed on Thursday and spent the weekend putting all kinds of stuff in it. The result is that the forge is less cluttered, items like yard tools are out of the rain, the laundry room is easier to deal with, the back porch is cleaner, and craft / art supplies are more accessible.
Both these changes had huge impacts beyond just the initial change. They are similar to Keystone Habits in this regard and that’s what inspired me to talk about them in more detail. The difference is that while a Keystone Habit is a change you make over time (breaking a habit or forming a habit), a Thorn Change is more immediate. Still, there’s enough commonality that I think there’s some leverage to be gained from considering how they can be used together — how new habits can lead to Thorn Changes and Keystone Habits can make Thorn Changes easier.
Like Keystone Habits, Thorn Changes are changes are concrete. In addition, they have one or more of the following very similar characteristics:
- Multiple spheres of influence (systemic influence). Thorn Changes have impacts that go beyond the focus of the change. They can systematically improve lots of areas of your life: making processes easier, simplifying, reducing fragility, etc. They are systemic.
- Positive energy output (reduced energy loss). As with Keystone Habits, Thorn Changes can increase energy. The nuance is that Keystone Habits often give you more energy while Thorn Changes reduce an energy drain. If something is draining your energy — emotionally, physically, spiritually, cognitively — then changing that thing gives you that energy back.
- Required discipline (or effort). Changing a Keystone Habit can be hard (requiring discipline), but the difficulty give you power to make other changes. Thorn Changes can also be hard (requiring effort), but again it shows you that you can make big or complex changes in your life, empowering you to set and achieve larger goals.
Both my examples above are household-oriented (considering how much emphasis, magically and mundanely, I place on the household, this is probably not surprising). But there are lots of other possible Thorn Changes:
- Moving. Probably the biggest candidate to be a Thorn Change. If you hate the place you live, have no friends, can’t find a job, or just want something different out of your life, a move (whether across town or across the globe) will change everything. It’s affects are certainly multiple and systemic and requires effort to accomplish.
- Cutting someone toxic out of your life. A draining, drama-filled, or dysfunctional relationship can be a huge emotional and spiritual energy sink. While drama and co-dependence always take two, there are times when you decide that it’s better that someone shouldn’t be in your life anymore, or even just draw clear boundaries about what it will take for someone to be in your life.
- Paying off debt. Another one that’s probably broadly applicable. Nothing is a bigger drain than having some unwieldy debt to deal with. It’s stressful and reduces your life options in all kinds of ways. The things you need to do to pay off a debt no doubt include all kinds of habits, but the act of paying it off is a huge Thorn Change. This is the example that really connected the dots between the key habits and big changes.
We’re always making habits and things are always changing. The trick is to embrace those things consciously to try to make your life better, which is where magic comes in.
