Baby steps. This theme has been huge for me this month. In terms of reflection on my own life and in terms of guiding my life coaching clients along as they seek what is next for them.
I got to thinking about this when my family discovered a High Ropes Course at Luray Caverns last week. That first step on the obstacle course felt so scary. My legs were wobbly and shaky. I could barely breathe. I thought I was too old for this and maybe this was a bad idea. But, I was up there, so I took baby step after baby step and with each one, I could breathe easier, I became less shaky, I could approach each new obstacle with more confidence than I had on the last one. When I started, there was no way I could have imagined “walking the plank” at the end. But I did.
I could not help but think about all of the conversations I have had this last week with my life coaching clients.
So often when we want something, we want it right now. Not only right now, but we also wanted it like yesterday.
We also want a really straight, defined path where we can check off the boxes and know with CERTAINTY we are moving in the “right” direction.
For us lawyers . . . that path looked like this:
Go to college, graduate college, take the LSAT, apply to law school, go to law school, pass the bar, get a job. Sure each of those pieces was hard, we had struggles, we studied our butts off, we had wins and heartache along the way. However, we had the comfort of following a well-defined path. We checked the box, maybe we celebrated a tad, and then we went to tackle the next item. In short, we had the playbook, we had the map, we got to stay in the box, we were SUPPOSED to stay in the box.
But maybe around now . . . you are waking up and realizing you want “something else” but you don’t know how to get there. You don’t even know WHAT it is. But you are feeling all sorts of anxious, out of sorts, itchy . . .
That is the precise reason I became a life coach. Especially to law moms. Because I know that feeling. And because I figured out how to get myself out of the box. I know how to get YOU out of the box.
For me, it all boiled down to baby steps.
Start small.
Start with one tiny thing.
Start with the very basic thing you need to do or read.
Start with that one conversation you need to have.
Start with Google.
Figure out the first thing and go. Then the next thing and go. Again and again.
Baby steps.
I know that the thought of “just” taking baby steps can be really frustrated and infuriating. You want to be well on your way and established and you are ready already. I get that. However, I heard this great quote yesterday by Maria Forleo – “Starting small doesn’t mean thinking small.”
What does that mean? Let’s unpack that:
Taking a baby step doesn’t mean you are failing, It ONLY means you are on track and you are making progress. The way I see it, right now you have 3 choices. You can go backward, stay stuck where you are, or you can move the needle a tiny bit. And isn’t even a tiny bit still on the path? Doesn’t that tiny movement still get you closer to your goal? Won’t you HAVE to do that tiny thing ANYWAY to get to the BIG thing you want to get to? Why not do it now? Why not do it in baby steps?
How does that reframe your thinking?
Or look at it this way . . . so you took a tiny baby step and you discovered that thing you thought you wanted isn’t actually a good fit? Isn’t it better that you only took a baby step? An exploratory step?
How does that reframe your thinking?
If you are reading this and STILL frustrated because you feel stuck and don’t even know WHAT baby step to take. That is what I am here for!
If you are curious about what a “life coach” does or if you are curious about my style and if we will be a good fit, I invite you to book a 20-minute discovery call with me. I promise you, I will NOT come on strong at the end. I hate a sales pitch – you know the kind where you HAVE to sign up RIGHT NOW or you will never get that deal again? I hate that. This is not that. We will just talk. Like real people. If you want to work with me, awesome! If not, I am glad we got to meet for a short while.
Book here!
Can’t wait to get unstuck with you!
