Sometimes we want to snap our fingers and transform something into its perfect, idealized form. Sometimes we want a big change, and we want it in the here-and-now.
Have you ever been there? Looking at a disorganized home and wanting it to transform to a Pinterest post? Wanting to read a book a week but you haven’t read a book in three years? Wanting to pursue your dream career but you don’t know how? Wanting to revolutionize your routine but you’re overwhelmed and haven’t changed a thing?
The truth is this:
BABY STEPS MATTER.
Sometimes we need more appreciation for the small steps, and sometimes we need to recognize that the giant leaps are not built without the first, small steps.
Baby steps are achievable, maintainable, significant in their own right, and the building blocks for the future. Baby steps are nothing to be scoffed at; they should be both pursued and honored.
The big task can be overwhelming, and it usually isn’t meant to be achieved in a day, or even in one phase. The journey to sustainable change requires a series of steps. The journey to a real, significant change—especially a big one—requires a start.
Reading a page of a book is reading more than nothing.
Moving for five minutes is more movement than staying on the sofa.
Taking one class is much more of a learning opportunity than taking none.
Utilizing one coping skill at one point in the day is a shift from using no healthy coping skill.
At first, enhancing one piece of a routine is a better start than procrastinating a huge routine overhaul that might not last.
Baby steps are worth our time, and we’ll build with them.
Ask yourself:
What baby step could enhance my day?
Could my start happen now?
Contributed by Merrell Miles Westerman, Intern
