You know the feeling. You get inspired by a new idea you learn from an Harvard Business Review newsletter or Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book.

You’re intrigued by applying your learning to turning around that project from hell. You’re inspired to create better communication among your sniping team members. But how do you find the time to put it into practice? It doesn’t help that many of us are instant gratification junkies.

You are excited by the possibility of trying a new approach, but it feels like everything has to change at once. You may even resist exposing yourself to new ideas because you’re all-full-up the way it is. You feel like you can't keep your head above water, and you’re paddling like mad.

You have this nagging thought that if you had a moment to try a different method, you might make real change. You start to feel overwhelmed then paralyzed by the prospect. Pretty soon you put the possibility to improve things aside for another day… that never comes.

It doesn't have to be that way.

What I know is that one good place to start is by answering the question, “How do I want to be in this situation?” Harried or calm? At loose ends or grounded? Trying to do everything asked of you, or making powerful choices?

As much as you would like your situation to be different, this is an inside job. As much as you would like expectations of of you to lighten up, there is good news in the fact that the ball is in your court. At least it’s within your power to influence, as opposed to waiting for someone else.

One small change. 

The next step is to identify one high-leverage “small” change. Say you're a team leader and your team members complain they don't get enough recognition or appreciation. You think you have to develop a recognition system. For that you need to find more money in the budget. The thought of either idea drains you.

Let's pause. What is one thing you can do that is a small, but has large impact? How about this? On a consistent basis, at the end of a routine meeting, you share one thing you learned from each person in the room. Or you can acknowledge a contribution each made to the meeting.

Obviously, context is important, based on your existing relationships, etc. But, you get my drift about starting with “one thing.” You must maintain sincere commitment and consistent action with this one thing. Then it begins to spill over into other areas. You get practice thinking this way. One day you find yourself expressing appreciation out of the blue. You hit exactly the right note, outside the team meeting.

Remember: small action -- big impact. 

If we try to just “be more appreciative” it often doesn’t work because it’s too general. You feel like you need to carry it with you every minute of the day. Anything like that is too hard to keep on your mind while you have other stuff to do.

It’s unlikely you are going to be successful by “willpowering” your way through it. Instead, craft a contained, do-able experiment to learn how to think differently. Soon you find yourself doing it without effort.

Then the “high-leverage” part starts to show up. For instance, the contributions or attributes you acknowledge in your meetings show team members what “good performance” looks like.

The human beings you work with start to respond because they want to hear how their contribution made a difference. They might even learn how to appreciate each other too.

You don’t have to change everything at once when you try to develop new skills or try out new concepts. It doesn’t have to be in every moment.

When you craft your experiment, “test” it under specific circumstances. You won’t get overwhelmed, and you’ll begin to see how other small changes can make a difference.

Photo credit. iStockphoto contributor, Matej Michelizza.

Adapted from original post: Jan. 19, 2010