One Step

 

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a Yahoo Mail account where most of my recurring emails are classified in folders. Among those folders, some are up to date, and others I haven’t opened in a while. This week I opened one such folder and decided to clear all 120 unread emails by opening and reading each one. Good decision, because it gave me the idea for this week’s musings!  

Sometimes we procrastinate on beginning a new project simply because it is so large that it scares the heck out of us. A quick glance at my folders had me thinking ‘What’s the point?’ It is easy to despair and give up when the size of the task looks gigantic and insurmountable. But there is a way out if you break it into really small manageable action steps. There may be 120 unread emails but I can read 10 of them in the next 10 minutes.  

Every crochet blanket or latch hook rug project always looks gargantuan at the start. And some have actually been massive finished projects. They do have one thing in common though, they start with an idea, then a pattern, then the supplies, and the first latch or stitch. The rest is a matter of time and repetition. "Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” ~ Vaclav Havel

You probably had a goal at the beginning of the year that you are yet to get started on. Does it seem like too much time has passed and you’re already despairing of ever getting around to it? Time check: today is the 125th day of 2023. You still have 240 days to go before the year is out. That is over 5,750 hours left. If you start now, what is there that cannot be accomplished or completed in that much time? One step is all it takes.

Divvy up those goals into chunks that can be chewed and swallowed in a small space of time. For example, an hour a day of reading time can get your stats up to 50 books a year or more. Whatever time you can spare, just make it consistent and commit to showing up authentically. Also, be kind to yourself as you show up. Pat your back for what you get done once the time is up. Acknowledge and tick that activity as a step taken in the journey of a thousand miles. Note the dopamine hit that that celebration gives you, then rinse and repeat.

Getting in the habit of doing these simple things can feel different at first but, over time, it leads to us doing things that make us feel good. It's great when we can rely on ourselves rather than others to make us feel good. And while you’re at it, tell that negative committee that lives in your head to zip it up, you have a celebration to prepare for.

"It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living." ~ Eckhart Tolle "

“Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it's no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

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