Today I sat with my father looking at old family pictures. There were the cringe pics of my awkward middle school years. There were the family members who have passed, who I struggled to recall. Then there were the pics of my parents as teenagers before they could have ever imagined the current reality they are living in.

Looking through these dated photographs, I reflected on the small things that make a big impact. The small choices, the little sacrifices, the bits of faith, and the scraps of guts left to make tomorrow better than yesterday. A story filled with generational scars and battle stories gave light to the life I love today.

Many people have heard of the parable in the Bible, where Jesus draws reference to a mustard seed. One of the smallest seeds, measuring only 1 to 2 millimeters, grows up to 20 feet tall. It is meant to symbolize the kingdom of heaven, which begins small but grows to a size large enough to provide shelter for all. Wherever your spirituality lies, this metaphor is profoundly meaningful.

First as someone under 5 foot, I love a story where something small makes a great difference. But more than that, I think we are often fooled by looking for the biggest or greatest in every moment. We want to diet? Let’s cut out food, run 4 miles a day, and drink gallons of water. We want to turn our lives around? Let’s wake up at 4 a.m. every day, meditate for an hour, drink kale for breakfast, read “how to” books, and then we surely should have an extra zero on the end of our yearly income, a husband, and smaller waistline. Voila!

The problem is that going big means throwing yourself into unsustainable concepts that are setting you up for failure while confirming the self-defeating notions that lie within your head. Why do we set such large margins of success in our lives, when it is truly committing to the smallest change that makes a difference. Think of it this way, the difference between the fastest and second-fastest man in the world is 0.11 seconds. That is the margin between the greatest man in the world and second place. It seems even greatness is measured in the smallest of measurements.

Today, I remind myself that it is a consistent commitment to what you believe is important that will determine how your life will unfold before you. In my case, it was two teenagers who made a consistent commitment to family and did the small things they could afford to show that above all, they believed in each of their children. They had a faith that if they showed up in small ways every day, they could make something out of what they felt was nothing.

A morsel of belief converts to ounces of hope, which can lead to the difference between surviving and thriving. If you want to grow in such a way that you can bring life and love to others, ditch the grand plans and focus on the small critical habits that will water your dreams and feed your faith.

Plant your mustard seed, water it with a faithful commitment to love, and watch it grow.