Turtle Steps
How taking tiny action steps helps you in the long run
I am currently doing a 30-day challenge (part of 75 Hard), you can read more about the reasons behind it HERE.
Today was day 15 on my 30-day challenge! *Woot woot*
That means I am halfway done, and this week was harder than the first. I expected it, as this is a pretty typical pattern for me. I start very excited and eager and then completely die off because of…whatever reason.
Not this time!
I’m learning that as I rewire my brain to be able to withstand the difficult emotions and thought patterns that arise, every single time it makes it a tiny bit easier.
Not easier in the way that I can do it without the mental negotiation. This is always going to be a part of how I function, but easier in the way that I can talk myself through WHY this is important to me.
I was shocked to find out that people can create habits and just do things without really thinking about it. I’ve always had to convince myself to do the things that “should” be habits, like brushing my teeth.
Every single morning and night, I have to tell myself that I have to do certain things, then I have to tell myself the steps for the thing. It is exhausting.
So when I saw a video that neurotypical people don’t have to do this, and that this is what habit forming is, I was pretty surprised. And angry that my brain works this way.
Anyway, this was not the post I had in mind. What I wanted to share with you today is the one thing that has helped me the most during this whole process. This is actually what helps me during any challenging time.
Taking Turtle Steps
After completing the training for a Life Coach certification through the Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coach program (one of the most amazing things I have ever done), I walked away with some of the most practical ways to make my day-to-day living so much better.
One of those is the idea of taking turtle steps to reach a goal.
When I think of what I need to do to reach a goal, like writing a novel, it can feel extremely daunting to tell myself, “Self, you gotta write 65,000 words”.
Im-po-ssi-ble.
So we can cut that in half, okay, maybe just around 32,000ish words. And half again…how about just 16,000 words? Nope, not small enough. Let’s just start with getting 5,000. Hmmm…still not small enough because it FEELS like a lot.
Essentially, you’ve gotta slice the tasks in half until you get to the easiest task possible that even on your hardest day, you can do it. With the novel writing example, it was honestly writing 100 words.
When I sat down to write, I told myself that I just needed to write 100 words. And they didn’t even need to be part of the novel, it could even be something like “Oh my goodness, I am trying to write and my mind is going blank…”
Some days that’s exactly what I did. Other days, though, I started with 100 words and before I knew it, I had written close to 3,000 words!
It taught me to ebb and flow with what I could show up with each day. Turtle steps for the win, because eventually I ended up with a whole freaking novel.
That I still have to edit. But you know, turtle steps.
A review of the last week
The lessons learned this past week are:
Turtle steps help me manage the unmanageable. Small, tiny chunks of time, with lots of small wins, and I can make it through any day. I do the same when I go on my walks, focusing on the next 3 steps at a time.
There is always a workaround. I’m catching a cold because germy children are inevitable when you are an educator. Instead of pushing through with my weight lifting exercises, I treated myself to a yoga video for when you have a cold. It helped me breathe so much better!
I am slowly learning that I matter. A lesson every human deserves to learn as a child. Unfortunately, there are a ton of people who don’t. It is eye-opening to me that I have mattered this entire time. It feels pretty cool to be honest, and it makes me want to show up for myself tomorrow again.
Thank you for reading! Here are the posts I wrote this week. Enjoy!
The Magic of the Good Old Days
As a fellow Martha Beck-trained Wayfinder coach, I say: Hooray for showing up! “Turtle steps for the win…”. Go you!