OK, I was going to give this blah blah blah blog a cute title about the "journey of a thousand miles..." but when I realized Confucius said it and then further realized that I hate the word journey, I decided to use another frequent flyer in the quote world instead - "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (Neil Armstrong)
As I lay in bed tonight, OK tossed in bed tonight, I kept thinking that in order to take action you really only have to do one small thing. Infinitesimal. Itty Bitty. Once you do that thing - whatever it is - you are no longer where you were. You are out of inertia and moving. Even if it is at a turtle's pace, you are still moving. In fact, Martha Beck calls these mini movements turtle steps. And you know the story about the Turtle and the Hare, right?
So, that damn Confucius was onto something.
Where are you trying to go?
What are you hoping to achieve?
What do you want more (or less) of in your life?
Having a sense of your destination can be helpful, but even if you don't know exactly where you are going you can move in the direction of your dreams by taking one small step. The cool thing about these little moves is that you can adjust your direction easily if you discover it wasn't actually where you wanted to go. The other cool thing? They are a piece of cake and, dare I say, FUN!
My small step this week was to update my blog. After all, the journey of a thousand thoughts begins with just one word. Which is why I got up at 3am and decided to type a few of those words. Turtle Steps.
Do want more joy? What is one small thing that will bring you more joy this week?
I am going to laugh more with my family.
Do you want to be healthier? What is one thing (tiny!) that will create more wellness in your life? I am going to enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer every day!
Do you want less stress? What is one itty-bitty mini-movement you can take to create more peace?
I am going to remind myself to be present.
Share YOUR small steps.
Everyone who comments on this post goes into a drawing for a 30 minute one-on-one coaching session on Turtle Steps. I know - it is a shameless way to encourage comments, but I don't care!
Confucius always makes me think of fortune cookies. I like to add "in bed" to the end of all my fortunes. So, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step... in bed." Good night everyone!
xoHannah
7 comments:
Took the filter off the comments - it should work now....
xoHannah
I'm going to pay attention to what I put in my mouth, go to the gym more often(been slacking) because it helps me keep on course (and will help with stress), by going to the gym I'll sleep better and have a better temperament, I'm going to schedule some me time for some peace, and I'm going to spend some time on my Sensaria business in the next few days because I want to, not because I need to. Sherry H..
Why is it that the thought of small steps is overwelming me? Like I have to take 10,000 small steps right this second! I don't and I know that, but I don't feel like I know that. Does that make any sense?
Hey there...
I get a little "analysis paralysis" sometimes when I feel like there are a lot of things (or one big one) to get done. I tend to spend a lot of time analyzing what needs to be done and how to do it and then it starts to feel like 10,000 steps. My suggestion is to just look at one area and break it down into TINY steps and then only take ONE of them. Something about this one movement helps to created some momentum and the other things happen easier.
Most of us tend to think we have to move far immediately and that is why we stop moving all together. Kind of an all or nothing mentality. By doing one small thing you retrain your brain (and your body) and allow yourself to experience success which is a HUGE motivator:)
Does that help????
What are the 10,000 steps you feel like you need to take?
xoHannah
Hey Hannah, loving the blog and new new site home page...good work on those turtle steps! Got a few things to work on with my own turtle steps...the tendency to think 1 turtle step is not enough and I must do 25 instead! Been a real struggle with that this week...I should focus on being proud and pleased with the momentum of the few steps I HAVE done, not fixate on all the ones I haven't!
Speak soon,
Lx
My good friend, Kaci, and I were both anxious to lose weight, be more active, be healthier, etc, but neither of us were seeing great results (as in, we weren't dropping weight by the pounds each week, but instead were losing by the partial pounds more often than not) and we coined it "Turtle Weight" because it was coming off frustratingly slow, but after a year, she'd lost 35 and I'd lost 10 and we were both right about where we'd hoped we'd be. Every little bit counts and helps and once we realized it and focused on it, it sure made a huge difference!
Turtle weight, Leah - that is PERFECT!!! I love that! You and Kaci were seriously on to something! Congratulations. xoHannah
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