Little things become big things. This applies to literally every single thing that we encounter. Over the course of a day, you are faced with millions of decisions. What to wear, what to eat, how to respond to a question, whether to take the stairs or the elevator. These things add up to create habits, which become building blocks of your identity. These choices -- no matter how small -- greatly affect your day and who you are creating yourself to be.

The little things make the big things happen.

We see beautiful houses, but we forget about the nails and the caulking that hold it together. We see beautiful pictures, but we forget about the detailed lighting and the numerous poses that make it aesthetic. We read beautiful books, but we forget about the small events until we see how they create the big picture.

It is easy to examine some aspects of our lives and see how these small details can create larger, positive results. For example: to stay in shape, you must exercise several times per week. To get better at math, you must practice math problems. To be better at a sport, you must practice the fundamentals of that respective game.

But it's the even smaller things that we don't tend to think about. We forget about how good form on squats can lead to squatting more weight, which in turn results in stronger muscles, which THEN leads to an increased performance in competition. We tend to forget that regularly reading our Bibles can help us retain information that in turn can help us answer a question from a curious unbeliever. We tend to forget that in relationships, talking about small things can lead to better communication in the big ones. Paying attention to your teammates or coworkers can help you realize their tendencies, helping towards the goal of winning a championship or getting a big deal.

... BUT.

Little NEGATIVE things also can become big negative things.

Cheating on your workout reps makes you weaker physically and mentally, hurting both you and your team. Lying about small things to your parents results in testing the limits of honesty in your other relationships. Eating fast food every single day will weaken your organs and can lead to disease. Not doing extra at your job will never result in a promotion.

If you feed honesty, hard work, and positivity, it grows. If you feed cheating, laziness, and negativity, it grows.

.....

Be intentional with the little things. Little things come every single day, big things do not. In fact, big things do not come at all unless those smaller opportunities are taken advantage of. Taking the easy way out will never result in something great.

We must realize that the nails and caulking in our lives are important for creating our metaphorical houses. When we make sure that the foundation is correct and that the wood is all nailed together, we give our house the best opportunity to stand, to be beautiful, and to do its job. We must take our metaphorical book and and realize that every single page has words that are crucial to the rest of the story.

If we take care of the little things, we create and are prepared for the big moments.

Intentionality is the key. If you aren't working FOR something, you are working against it. Mediocrity never yields success.

Whatever you feed, it grows.