Sometimes, taking small steps can make a huge difference.
Have you heard these excuses? I’ve never been good at math.
- I’m too old to learn a new language.
- I can’t swim because I’m afraid of water.
- I could never give up soda.
- New technology is too complicated for me.
Many people have a fixed mindset about conquering a new skill or breaking a bad habit. A fixed mindset is when we find an excuse for why we can’t. A growth mindset is when we decide that we can, though it may take some time.
A Fish Out of Water
As a teenager, I dreaded the annual youth group swimming party. I have always had an unnatural fear of water. I would stay far back from the pool’s edge to avoid the goofball who wanted to throw the littlest person (usually me) into the deep end or the clumsy kids who accidentally walked into people backward, sending someone tumbling into the drink. That pool water looked inviting, especially in August, but I couldn’t get near it.
In my 30s, I decided I didn’t want to live that way anymore. I must learn to swim. Attending swimming lessons and blowing bubbles with the five-year-olds was not on my to-do list. Fortunately, my neighbor had a delightfully uncrowded pool.
I started small, holding onto the shallow end ladder and putting my face underwater—step 1. Eventually, I had my head underwater for a full minute—step 2. See where this is going? I grabbed an inner tube and kicked across the pool’s shallow end. Then I wore a life preserver and swam to the deep end. Once brave enough, I removed the life preserver and swam across the shallow end. I clung to the pool’s edge and went to the deep end, where I swam corner to corner, side to side, and end to end—steps 3 through 8.
I’m still afraid of water, of losing the ability to catch a breath, but I’ve snorkeled in the ocean and can swim laps for a mile. Guess what I discovered. I’m too buoyant to sink! I have to work hard to reach the bottom of a pool.
The Terrors of Technology
Small steps can help with technological challenges, too. All wanna-be authors are told to create a website and send newsletters or blogs. Two years ago, I was clueless (Some say I’m still clueless most of the time) about developing a webpage. I struggle with the webpage today, but I’ve learned a few things. I started with a single page. Then, I added another. I had one post. Now I have many. Each time I get a report on the health of my webpage, I find issues that need to be resolved. I don’t have time to tackle everything on the list.
So I choose one item, read it, try to understand what it means, and then fix the problem areas for that issue. I’m not ready to teach a course on building websites. But I’m making progress.
If technology scares you, buy a basic smartphone. The Jitterbug phone has been highly recommended for older adults. Learn how to use one app on the phone. Once you’ve mastered that one, tackle another app. Soon, you’ll be teaching teenage grandkids how it works.
You can tackle many challenges by taking small steps. You don’t need ten; five may be enough.
Choose Your Battles
Want to lose weight? Try giving up your evening snack one night a week. Then, give up the nighttime snacking on weekends. Finally, switch to snacking only two nights a week. Want to give up sugary sodas? Replace one soda daily or weekly with something healthier; water would be a good choice. Then, skip the soda for another day.
Want to thoroughly clean the house for the first time in 12 years? Start small. Do one room, one wall, or one closet. My husband painted the interior of our house, removing all the trim and restaining all the woodwork using very small steps—one wall at a time. It took him about a year to finish, and I was okay with that. The money we had planned to give to a house painter helped pay for my new car.
Want to become physically fit? Decide on the end goal, then determine the first and second steps. There’s no hurry. I’ve been trying to learn to do a chin-up for three years. By 2029, I might reach that goal. I conquered boys’ push-ups by doing wimpy push-ups against a wall, then on the edge of the kitchen table, then the coffee table, and finally, the floor. I can only do five push-ups, but next year, I’ll do six.
Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels
Take Small Steps
Progress takes time. Don’t tell yourself you have to master this challenge today. Tell yourself you have to master the first small step. Stick with that change until it becomes easy. Then, figure out step number two.
See, you’re moving in the right direction.
Have you conquered a mighty challenge using small steps? I’d love to hear your story.
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