It seems impossible to take one step without it affecting the next step.
Taking one new step can result in positive things - as in, one good thing leads to another ... close one door and a new door opens ... leap and the net appears ... that kind of thing.
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You leave a stinky job for a more desirable one - and you love it.
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You ditch the loser relationship for a healthier one - and you feel so much more at peace.
- You join a health club and your energy improves.
- You make a phone call or send an email to "begin" - and it proceeds fabulously
The one-thing-leads-to-another also can be overwhelming - as in, you decide to replace the filthy carpet in your office and suddenly, you're immersed in a total renovation:
- hiring painters to change the color on cabinets and walls
- selecting a new window treatment out of 8,147 samples because now the old one doesn't match the new colors
- purging unwanted stuff
- removing everything from the walls
- clearing out the entire office so the painters don't splash your stapler
- setting up a temporary office in another part of the house (and not knowing where anything is)
- and spending five times more money as you would have, had you stuck with your original idea of only ordering new carpet
I have recently legally changed my name and had NO inkling to the steps involved after I received the court order with the new name. Whoa. I am now buried under forms and paperwork and gold-sealed copies of the court order and emails and phone calls and fees and a long long list of everywhere I must update my name ... basically, EVERYTHING in my life: passport, birth certificate, driver's license, credit cards, bank accounts, social security, house deeds, will & trust, investment accounts, car titles ... blah blah blah. (Tip: don't change your name)
I took that one initial step to fill out and mail a Name Change form ... and that step created an avalanche, leading to many more necessary steps, some days overwhelming me enough to ask myself, Mamma mia, what did I do??? (All self-created, this I realize.)
One thing leads to another.
One step forces you onto the next step ... and it keeps rolling from there. And suddenly you're overwhelmed ... or happier. Suddenly you're in over your head ... or where you're supposed to be. Suddenly your simple one-page story is a full-blown thesis.
Yet movement is good. Stepping is good. Forward is good.
When we start ... it rolls, it flows, it moves, it escalates. One thing leads to another. Just start.
If you are contemplating that first step on a project, a career move, buying a new house, returning to college, changing a relationship, adopting a child, switching religions, having a baby, saving for a new car, applying for dual citizenship, writing a book, whatever ... you can envision where it might lead, right? It is something you want. Yet it will not happen if you do not STEP.
What is the first step - one baby step - you could take today?
It is not necessary to already know the path (even if you did, most likely the path will change along the way).
You may have to walk through a little mucky-muck to get there. Are you willing? Are you open to allowing the process to unfold, to tackle each step one at a time? To stay focused on the shiny goal?
Taking that initial stride may be the most difficult part of your journey ... but to win ... you have to begin. Even if some of the process becomes overwhelming and leads to more than you bargained for ... won't your desired end result be worth it?
I love my new name ... and as much of a pain in the tuckus as it has been to make the changes, I just tackle them one step at a time. Eventually, they will get done, all my documents will match, and you'll have to call me Suzanna Rosa. :D
Oh, and that was my office I described earlier ... and I know the new renovation is going to look fabulous! :D
