The Quote
“Something no matter how small is better than nothing.”
— Godwin Delali Adadzie
Context and Inspiration
This reflection addresses a common barrier that prevents people from taking action: the belief that if they can’t do something big, impressive, or complete, they shouldn’t do anything at all. The observation challenges all-or-nothing thinking that paralyzes progress and wastes opportunities. People refuse to save money because they can only save a little. They don’t start exercising because they can’t commit to an hour daily. They won’t help someone because they can’t solve the whole problem. They don’t begin projects because they can’t finish them immediately. This perfectionism masquerading as high standards actually accomplishes nothing while appearing noble. The truth is simpler and more freeing: any action, however small, is better than inaction. Small steps compound. Partial help still helps. Imperfect progress still moves you forward. Understanding this principle frees people to start, to contribute what they can, to make progress within their limitations, and to value incremental improvement over paralyzed perfectionism.
The Paralysis of All-or-Nothing Thinking
Many people operate under an unstated rule: if I can’t do it perfectly or completely, I won’t do it at all.
This sounds like having high standards. But it’s actually a sophisticated form of avoidance that produces nothing while feeling virtuous.
“I can’t afford to save $100 a month, so I won’t save anything.” Result: zero savings.
“I can’t work out for an hour, so I won’t exercise at all.” Result: declining health.
“I can’t volunteer every week, so I won’t volunteer at all.” Result: no service.
“I can’t read the whole book today, so I won’t start.” Result: the book stays unread.
“I can’t clean the whole house, so I won’t clean anything.” Result: the mess remains.
“I can’t give a large donation, so I won’t give anything.” Result: zero contribution.
“I can’t pray for an hour, so I won’t pray at all.” Result: no prayer life.
In every case, the person has an excuse that sounds reasonable but produces zero results. Something—anything—would be better.
Biblical Support for Small Things
Scripture repeatedly affirms that small things matter to God:
The Widow’s Mite (Mark 12:41-44): Jesus watched people giving large amounts at the temple. Then a poor widow gave two small coins—almost nothing. Jesus said she gave more than all the others because she gave all she had.
God doesn’t measure giving by the size of the gift but by the heart behind it. Her small offering mattered more than their large ones.
Mustard Seed Faith (Matthew 17:20): Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The smallest faith—genuinely applied—accomplishes more than massive faith that sits idle.
Little Is Much When God Is in It: When the boy offered his five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 people, it seemed ridiculously inadequate (John 6:1-13). But Jesus took that small offering and multiplied it.
You might look at what you have to offer and think “this is nothing.” But give it to God anyway. He specializes in multiplying small offerings.
Faithful in Little (Luke 16:10): Jesus said: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
God tests faithfulness in small things before entrusting bigger things. If you despise small beginnings, you’ll never reach significant endings.
Don’t Despise Small Beginnings (Zechariah 4:10): “Who dares despise the day of small things?” God asks through the prophet. Small starts aren’t shameful—they’re normal.
The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30): The servant with two talents and the servant with five were both commended with identical words: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” God doesn’t compare—He evaluates faithfulness with what you have.
Why Small Is Better Than Nothing
Let’s be practical about why doing something small beats doing nothing:
Small Actions Compound: Five dollars saved today doesn’t seem significant. But five dollars saved consistently for years becomes substantial.
Ten minutes of exercise daily doesn’t transform your body overnight. But ten minutes daily for months produces real results.
One page read daily doesn’t finish a book quickly. But one page daily finishes the book eventually—and 365 pages in a year is more than most people read.
Small Creates Momentum: The hardest part of any task is starting. Once you’ve started—even small—continuing becomes easier.
Walking for five minutes breaks the inertia of sitting. Writing one sentence breaks the paralysis of the blank page. Cleaning one counter breaks the overwhelming feeling of a messy house.
Small Builds Habits: You don’t establish habits through massive occasional effort. You build them through small consistent action.
Someone who prays five minutes daily for a year develops a prayer habit. Someone who prays intensely once a month doesn’t.
Small Is Sustainable: Most people can’t maintain extreme effort long-term. They burn out, quit, and end up doing nothing.
Small efforts you can sustain beat large efforts you can’t maintain. Marathon runners don’t sprint the whole race.
Small Gives You Practice: You don’t learn guitar by practicing eight hours once. You learn through daily practice, even if brief.
Small consistent practice develops skill better than sporadic intense practice.
Small Proves You Can: Successfully doing something small builds confidence. “I can do this” becomes believable when you’ve already done it, even if small.
Small Matters to Recipients: If you can’t solve someone’s whole problem but can help partially, that partial help still matters to them.
You can’t feed all the hungry people, but feeding one hungry person means everything to that person.
Small Keeps Options Open: Doing nothing closes all possibilities. Doing something small keeps the door open for more.
Save a little now and you can save more later. Save nothing and you’re starting from zero when you finally try.
Small Prevents Regret: Years from now, you’ll regret doing nothing more than doing something small.
The person who saved $10 a month won’t be wealthy, but they’ll have something. The person who saved nothing will have nothing and wish they’d started small.
Real-World Applications
Let’s get specific about areas where something beats nothing:
Financial
Small Savings: Even $5 per paycheck is better than zero. It won’t make you rich, but it establishes the habit and provides an emergency fund start.
Small Debt Payments: Paying an extra $10 on debt doesn’t eliminate it quickly, but it reduces total interest and shortens the payoff timeline.
Small Investments: You don’t need thousands to start investing. Many platforms allow investing with small amounts. Starting small beats waiting years until you have “enough.”
Health
Small Exercise: Can’t do an hour at the gym? Do ten minutes at home. Ten minutes of movement beats zero movement.
Walk around the block. Do ten push-ups. Stretch for five minutes. Something is better than nothing.
Small Food Changes: Can’t overhaul your entire diet? Change one thing. Drink more water. Add one vegetable daily. Cut one unhealthy snack.
Small changes maintained become habits. Large changes attempted become failures.
Small Sleep Improvements: Can’t get eight hours? Get seven. Seven beats six. Six beats five. Any improvement counts.
Relationships
Small Connection: Can’t have a long phone call? Send a text. Can’t visit? Write a note. Can’t give a big gift? Give a small one.
Any connection is better than silence. People remember you tried, not that it was small.
Small Apologies: Can’t fix the whole problem? Apologize for your part. Partial reconciliation beats continued conflict.
Small Kindness: Can’t solve their crisis? Bring a meal. Can’t give a lot of money? Give what you can. Can’t spend hours? Spend minutes.
Spiritual
Small Prayer: Can’t pray for an hour? Pray for five minutes. Five minutes of genuine prayer beats zero prayer.
Small Bible Reading: Can’t read multiple chapters? Read one verse and meditate on it. One verse absorbed beats ten chapters skimmed or zero chapters read.
Small Service: Can’t volunteer weekly? Volunteer once. Once is better than never.
Small Generosity: Can’t tithe the full ten percent? Give something. God cares about the heart, not just the percentage.
Learning and Growth
Small Study: Can’t take a full course? Watch one video. Can’t read the whole book? Read one chapter. Can’t practice an hour? Practice fifteen minutes.
Small Writing: Can’t write a book? Write a paragraph. Can’t write an article? Write a sentence. Something on paper beats nothing.
Small Progress: Can’t master the skill? Improve slightly. Slightly better is still better.
Home and Life Management
Small Cleaning: Can’t clean the whole house? Clean one room. Can’t clean one room? Clean one surface. Something clean beats everything dirty.
Small Organization: Can’t organize everything? Organize one drawer. One organized space is more than zero.
Small Maintenance: Can’t do all the repairs? Do one. Can’t do a full repair? Do temporary fixes. Something functional beats nothing working.
When “Nothing” Seems Noble
Sometimes people refuse to do small things because doing nothing feels more righteous:
“If I can’t give sacrificially, I won’t give at all.” This sounds spiritual but results in no giving. The widow gave small because that’s what she had. She didn’t wait until she had more.
“If I can’t commit fully, I won’t commit at all.” This sounds like integrity but results in no involvement. Partial participation still contributes.
“If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it.” This sounds like excellence but results in nothing done. Done imperfectly beats not done at all.
“I don’t want to do half-measures.” This sounds principled but produces zero results. Half is infinitely more than nothing.
These attitudes wear the costume of high standards but deliver the results of laziness or fear.
The Danger of Waiting
Many people plan to do something big “someday” but never do anything because “someday” never comes.
“I’ll start saving when I make more money.” Result: you never start because there’s always something to spend money on regardless of income.
“I’ll get serious about fitness when I have more time.” Result: you never start because life never gets less busy.
“I’ll serve God fully when my situation improves.” Result: you never serve because situations rarely improve without your involvement.
“I’ll pursue my dream when everything is in place.” Result: you never pursue it because everything is never perfect.
Meanwhile, the person who started small years ago has made real progress. They didn’t wait for perfect conditions—they worked with what they had.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 says: “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” Waiting for perfect conditions means never starting.
Small Requires Humility
Sometimes people avoid small things because their pride is wounded:
“I used to do big things—I’m not going to settle for small.” But small now beats nothing now. Your past doesn’t obligate your present.
“People will think I’m weak if I can only contribute a little.” Maybe. But contributing something beats protecting your image.
“It’s embarrassing to only give/do this much.” The widow wasn’t embarrassed. Jesus praised her. Only pride makes small things shameful.
“This won’t make a difference.” You don’t know that. And even if it’s true, faithfulness in small things matters to God regardless of visible impact.
Accepting your limitations requires humility. Doing small things when you wish you could do big things requires humility. But humility produces action. Pride produces excuses.
Biblical Examples of Something Over Nothing
Rahab’s Help (Joshua 2): Rahab couldn’t save her entire city from Israel’s conquest. But she could save the spies and negotiate safety for her family. She did what she could—and ended up in Jesus’ lineage.
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37): He couldn’t eliminate all highway violence or save all robbery victims. But he helped the one man he encountered. That one act defined him.
Dorcas’s Sewing (Acts 9:36-43): She wasn’t a preacher or apostle. She made clothes for widows. Small service faithfully done. When she died, people mourned deeply because her small acts mattered greatly.
The Boy’s Lunch (John 6:9): He offered what he had even though it was clearly inadequate. Jesus used it anyway.
The Cup of Cold Water (Matthew 10:42): Jesus said even giving a cup of cold water to someone in His name won’t lose its reward. The smallest kindness counts.
When Small Doesn’t Feel Enough
Sometimes small efforts feel pointless because the need is so large:
“One meal won’t end their hunger.” True. But it ends it today. That matters.
“One prayer won’t solve the crisis.” Maybe not. But God hears and responds to every prayer.
“One dollar won’t change anything.” One dollar from one person won’t. One dollar from a thousand people does. Your contribution plus others’ contributions creates impact.
“My small effort won’t fix the system.” Probably not. But it helps one person within that broken system. That person matters.
You’re not responsible for solving every problem or meeting every need. You’re responsible for faithfulness with what you can do.
Mother Teresa said: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” Don’t let the enormity of what you can’t do prevent you from doing what you can.
The Math of Small
Let’s do simple math to show why small matters:
$10/week saved = $520/year = $5,200 in ten years (without interest)
10 minutes of exercise daily = 70 minutes weekly = 3,640 minutes yearly = 60+ hours
One page read daily = 365 pages yearly = 2-3 books
Five minutes of prayer daily = 30+ hours yearly
$5 donated weekly = $260 yearly to causes you care about
Small compounds. Zero remains zero.
Reflection Questions
- Where in your life has all-or-nothing thinking prevented you from starting or contributing?
- What small action could you take today that you’ve been avoiding because it seems too small?
- If you’ve been waiting for perfect conditions to start something, what small step could you take now with imperfect conditions?
- Where are you despising small beginnings instead of celebrating them?
- What’s one area where doing something small consistently would produce meaningful results over time?
- Is pride preventing you from offering something small when you wish you could offer something large?
Related Quotes
- “No matter how microscopic your progress is, it is still progress.”
- “Everything is expensive. You just pay for it now or later.”
- “If you don’t want to end up disappointed. Don’t get too excited too soon and don’t expect too much.”
Want to learn to value small steps and progress? Explore my books on faith and perseverance, discover more quotes and reflections, or read more articles on making progress.
