In this edition of Systems & Stories, we’ve been exploring how small, consistent changes—like taking short walks, eating healthier meals, or spending fifteen minutes each night reading with your kids—can lead to significant life improvements over time. This phenomenon is often called the “compound effect.”
Now, we’d like you to experiment with it using a simple Causal Loop Diagram (CLD). Don’t worry if you’ve never drawn a CLD before—it’s essentially a rough sketch of circles and arrows, showing how different factors reinforce (or balance) each other.
1. Pick a “Small Change” Theme
Think of one small daily habit you’d like to adopt. This might be adding 10 minutes of exercise, dedicating 15 minutes to practicing a new skill, or aiming for an extra half-hour of sleep. Keep it simple!
2. Identify at Least Three Key Factors
Ask yourself: “What does this small habit influence?” For instance, if you’re focusing on exercise:
Fitness Level or Energy
Motivation or Stress
Sleep Quality
If you’re focusing on family time:
Relationship Quality
Stress
Motivation
If you’re focusing on learning something new (e.g., a language, musical instrument, coding skill):
Skill Mastery
Confidence
Stress (or Time Constraints)
These factors become the main “nodes” in your CLD.
3. Connect the Dots
Draw arrows to show how each factor influences the others—does it increase or decrease them? For example:
More daily exercise might boost Energy, which lowers Stress, which in turn can free up more time or motivation to exercise again.
Alternatively, if Stress gets too high, it can lead to skipping workouts, reducing Energy over time.
As you learn a new skill, your Confidence might go up, which can reduce Stress and provide more motivation to continue practicing.
Label each arrow with a “+” or “–” to show whether it’s a reinforcing effect (increases the next factor) or a balancing effect (reduces or counteracts it).
4. Look for Reinforcing & Balancing Loops
A Reinforcing Loop might look like this: Exercise +++ → Energy ––– → Stress ––– → Barriers to Exercise ––– → Exercise When Stress goes down, barriers to exercise go down, which encourages even more exercise—a virtuous circle!
A Balancing Loop might be something like: More Exercise +++ → Fatigue +++ → Missed Sessions ––– → Exercise If you push too hard, fatigue sets in and you start skipping sessions, which then balances the system by slowing down progress.
5. Reflect on the Compound Effect
With your sketch in hand, notice how small daily actions can spiral upward (or downward). Even if the lines and plus/minus signs feel messy, that’s part of the fun. You’re seeing how multiple factors interact and reinforce or balance each other in real life.
6. Share Your Diagram & Insights
We’d love to hear about:
What small change did you focus on?
Which loops or connections surprised you?
Have you tried your small change for a few days or weeks? Do you feel it starting to compound?
Share a photo of your CLD sketch or a short note on your experience by replying to this newsletter or tagging us on social media. We’ll feature some of your diagrams and stories in an upcoming issue.
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