Take the First Step

As you may have heard, past me had some struggles. She was the definition of reactive living. So how did current me become such a master of planning, balance, and peacefully proactive living? Honesty, years of intentional work that started with one step. 

Let’s picture a staircase for a moment. Imagine you are standing at the bottom and 20 steps are laid out in front of you. How are you going to get to the top? 

Most of us would logically say the path to the top would simply be scaling one step at a time. However, this is not what we tend to do when making changes in our lives. When I committed to living a life of better balance, my first action was to scrap my current tools, find a new planner, download all the apps, set lofty goals, and place demands on myself that were far beyond my current position. In short, I tried to jump to the top of the staircase. 

Since that was an epic fail, I decided to try again. This time, I thought about what was already working for me and how to parlay that into a reasonable first step. Although they were often on various scratch pages, notebooks, and sticky notes, I was good at making lists. So, I committed to simply making one list each week of what I needed to do. This was my first step. 

It worked. Likely, because I made this a reasonable first step based on where I was currently standing and what I was realistically capable of doing. From here, I was able to define and reach the next step, and another, and the next until I reached the top of that particular staircase. This is now the way I plan for and reach every goal. This is the best way I have found to make any change. 

If you are in need of a change in your life, remember to take it one step at a time. Do you want to manage your time better? Start by identifying your current successes and stumbling blocks, or commit to making a plan each week. Do you want to learn more about time management? Schedule a time to do research or start following a helpful account on social media. Do you need to reduce overwhelming feelings in your life? Adjust settings on your devices to reduce notifications or schedule 10 minutes of solo time. 

I strongly believe that anything is possible, it’s just a matter of how you do it. You can make the change you are seeking. Simply commit to the first step.