Small Steps Add Up
I can be a pretty impatient person – when I get an idea I want to put it into action right away but so often that isn’t really feasible (especially if I want to keep my marriage intact or not alienate all my friends!). What the 100 Day Challenge keeps teaching me is the power of taking small steps everyday. If you have been reading the blog posts about the Challenge, you might remember that I have had to revise my challenge slightly due to some back problems. It was frustrating not to be able to go at my usual pace and I feared that I wouldn’t really be accomplishing anything. To my great surprise and delight, I discovered that I had been accomplishing something.
Last weekend, we went downhill skiing for the day and I wasn’t sure how I was going to fare since I hadn’t been skiing all winter and my recent back issues had kept me from my usual yoga and walking. We had a beautiful day for skiing – sunny and warm but cool enough to keep the snow in good condition. We skied all day and by the end of the day, my legs would usually be giving out on me but I was ready to keep going. My whole body felt really good and I realized that my small steps of walking every day, even when I could only go for five or ten minutes, had been adding up. I started back to my yoga classes as well, a bit wary about what a three week break would bring but once again, I felt great afterward and the next day there was no soreness or stiffness.
There is such power in taking small steps, even though it doesn’t seem like much at the time, because the cumulative effect can be so great. It can be so overwhelming to have a dream or a goal that seems really big which can result in never getting started but when you do a little bit everyday, before you know it, you have achieved more that you thought possible!
We are more than halfway through the 100 Day Challenge now, it is a good time to evaluate. How are you doing? Are your daily steps adding up? Where can you ramp things up a bit? Or maybe you need to slow things down a little bit OR maybe you need to get started again. Sometimes people have dropped out of the Challenge long before the halfway mark and I say there’s nothing wrong with starting a ‘40 something’ Day Challenge!! I am curious to hear about what you have noticed. Be sure to leave your comments here!
Joyfully,
Deb
Hi Deb,
I haven’t progressed much in the 100 day challenge, but happy to say I’m not giving up. Physically, I have been afflicted with two months of bronchial and viral infections. Then to top it off, broke out in a type of hives as a result of having a virus for a long period of time. The doc added that only women get this type of hives. Yeah!
I shall continue to pursue what I love to do – write! I so appreciated your blog on that very subject. It was a fresh reminder to follow those dreams, desires, passions and be content in the pursuit knowing that each step I take toward them is a positive step.
I do feel frustration and discouragement which I contribute to the long spell of illnesses. When I’m up and at ’em physically and not so fatigued, I can write all night long. In fact, the best time for me to write is late late evening into the wee hours. It’s great when I don’t have to work, so have to cut back on the timing during the week. I KNOW I will complete all the books I want to write. I KNOW they will be published. The result? An uncluttered mind! Yeah…another accomplishment!
All the best, Kathryn
I enjoy reading about everybody’s progress, my challenge was to go and take pictures daily, and I have been pretty good about getting my camera out daily.
The surprising thing is how much my spouse-partner is enjoying it, he gets to look at the pictures and on the weekends we process and print them with photoshop.
It has been very nice side effect, getting to spend time with him, Thank you.