If you’re going to move forward you can take big leaps, regular steps or baby steps. It’s fun to focus on the big leaps because that seems like the fastest, most direct way to go. I used to think that and was always percolating on what big leaps I could take and then something happened to change my point of view.
It was last year when I decided to stretch myself by entering a beauty pageant. I had never entered a beauty pageant in my life, so I had a lot to learn. One of the areas of my attention was fitness, since there was a swimsuit competition that was 25% of my scores.
For two years, I regularly attended a weightlifting class twice a week. When I decided to enter this pageant I knew I needed to step it up but I wasn’t sure how so I asked my teacher what to do. She gave me the most amazing tip. She said I should use two bars. On the first bar put my usual amount of weight, and on the second bar put that amount plus a little more. Then she advised me to start with the heavier bar and stick with it for as long as possible, switching back to the lighter bar when it got to be too much.
I followed her advice and in a very short amount of time I was able to do the whole class with the heavier bar. Going to that higher weight helped to sculpt my muscles, which combined with watching my diet gave me a defined, strong, physique so that I rocked that swimsuit competition and took home the fitness award.
The coolest part though, was that it all happened not from a Big Leap, like grabbing some huge heavy weight and trying to pump that. That would have just given me injuries and set me back. No, it was the baby step of adding just a bit more weight and then just a bit more after that that did the trick.
The older I get the more I see the incredible power in baby steps and I think it's because they are so sneaky. They're so easy and do-able that it's hard for our minds to get involved and start talking us out of things. Baby steps build on what is already happening in a way that's so subtle we hardly notice. Baby steps are like a cute little toy you want to play with. They're non-threatening and fun, yet the results they can produce are astonishing.
TIP: The next time you’re brainstorming action, start small with questions like, “What baby step can I take to move me closer to my goal today?”, or “What one small thing can I do right now that will be the very best use of my time?” Notice what you come up with, and what results it produces.
© 2010 Barbara Wayman, APR, BlueTree Media, all rights reserved
Barbara Wayman, APR, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning monthly ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at http://BlueTreeMedia.com
