The Gift of Baby Steps and Why You Didn’t Break Into a Full Sprint out of The Uterus

It’s June… who happens to be busting out all over (excuse that musical theatre reference). The year is almost halfway on the books, I’m way less busy during the spring and summer months… and so I’ve decided to start a bunch of new initiatives or amp up the time I’m spending on them.

• Two new languages
• Piano lessons
• Songwriting (the technical side)
• Writing or curating three new books
• A new business
• Trying to lose five pounds/gain it back in muscle (my spare bicycle tire is turning into a wheel made for a monster truck… #facepalm)

Don’t worry, it’s not too much... but damn it all some of it is just plain difficult. I like or love all of these new things. And I figure I’ve been talking about doing some of these things for years but if I don’t do them now, when am I ever going to get around to it?

Yes, there’s the risk of doing too much to be good at any one thing BUT in my case I don’t really watch TV and I’m a crappy gardener, so I might as well fill my time with something.

I had to check in with myself on some of the frustrating aspects of learning new things.

Languages for example: with our native language, we aren’t truly fluent and well-versed in speech until around the age of eight (some of us eighteen :) ).

It’s like when we were babies: you didn’t get pissed off at yourself because you were crawling and not walking. You were determined to brace yourself on the table and hold yourself up, until your leg strength and coordination were up to par with walking on your own. You took two steps the first time, three the next and so on. You didn’t break into a full sprint straight out of the uterus.

The resolution I set for myself—which may help you as well.

Break up my big goal into a bunch of mini goals. Essentially I put the target close and hit the mark with success (even if it takes a few tries). I can celebrate that success—which is much needed on the road to a big goal. After hitting my mark, I’ll set the target back a little further, increasing the difficulty incrementally each time. This metaphor can carry out in a lot of ways. And I’ve certainly done with this work before but without the same vocabulary and terminology. My edu-ma-cated hypothesis: I’ll hit my goals by giving myself the gift of clear, succinct baby steps. Another thought: It’s impossible to stay on your feet all the time. Falling in life is bound to happen. However, the fall is a lot less painful when taking baby steps, rather than when moving at lightning speed on a motorcycle that you don’t know how to drive yet.

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