Folding 1000 Paper Cranes

This coming Saturday my sister is getting married. It is my divine pleasure to stand up with her and officially witness her big day. The wedding is very DYI. My sister KNITTED her wedding dress. She also did a great job on the decor. One day I saw a picture she had posted on a certain, popular social media site. It was a bowl of paper cranes. "What are you doing?" I asked. My sister quickly informed me that she was folding 1000 paper cranes. I always wanted to do that, but never really had a reason to, until now. I offered to take over the project so she could focus on said knitting project.

One thousand paper cranes.

I had a year to complete the project. Both for the sake of the legend and the wedding timeline.

The first thing I did was strategize. I sat down and calculated how many cranes I would need to fold each day to make my deadline.

Three per day, ish. No problem. I could totally do that.

But I let 3 months go by without folding any.

Now I had nine months. Time was dwindling away. Now I had to fold 4 per day (again, ish).

I folded the first crane. Check. I was on the road. I found I could comfortably fold 10 cranes in a sitting. I passed the first 100. COOL! Was totally on track.

Then my crane train came to a halt. I cut my finger preparing some sort of delicious, dark, green, leafie veggie. It hurt to fold. So I stopped.

Months dripped by. Thankfully I started travelling for national meetings. Flights across Canada are a great time to fold many cranes while watching movies. Fold. Giggle. Fold. Gasp. Fold. Cry. Fold...

I was finally able to ship off the first batch (image above). My sister arranged them into bowls by paper type.

By June 30th I had posted this on an aforementioned popular social media site:Here is some quick math for you.I spent 1.25 hours and folded 27 cranes bringing my total to 702 cranes folded and meaning my average single crane fold rate is 2.77 mins. I have another 827.78 mins of folding or 13.80 hours. To be done folding by July 31st, I need to fold for 26.70 minutes per day producing 9.6 cranes per session. That will free up August for operation Fold Sister's Wedding Bouquet. (Oh yeah, I was folding that too!)

What happened next was really interesting. Nine point six cranes easily became 20 cranes. Twenty flawlessly became 30. As the days went by, my tolerance for folding increased. The deadline actually seemed to get further away. By July 12th I only had 100 to go. I was completely finished two days later - having folded 50 each day. By July 18th, my sister received the 2nd batch completing the delivery of the 1000 cranes.

My sister and her girlfriends strung all of my 1000 paper cranes PLUS 1400 other cranes that had been folded by others. I can't wait to see them all dangling under the wedding tent. What an accomplishment!!I tell you this story for a reason, I promise.Habits and new behaviors are hard to create and harder to maintain.So, if there is something that you want to change about your life, or about your health then keep the vision of you in that changed state at the fore front of your mind. And every day, ask yourself, "What can I do TODAY to step closer to that goal?"

Taking consistent action is the key.

Do. A little bit. Everyday.

As I folded those cranes consistently, my momentum picked up. More became easier to do. Just as with exercise. As you get stronger you're able to do more. To go for longer.

Or with food. If you eat less sugar, you want less sugar. Eventually you don't want it at all. Hard to believe, I know. But true.

Do. A little bit. Everyday.

Little bits every day add up to big bits in the long run.

I folded A THOUSAND PAPER CRANES!!!!! Isn't that sooooo crazy?

If you fall off the wagon, like I did, re-establish the vision of your goal in your mind, and ask yourself that question,

"What action can I take today to get closer to that goal?"

So, I ask YOU this, and I'd love for you to respond in the comments below.

What do you want to change about your life or about your health. And what can you do TODAY to get closer to that goal?

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