One Step at a Time

We handle some unfamiliar things with grace.

It doesn’t matter that we’ve never been to, say, Amsterdam. We trust that there will be unfamiliar challenges like acquiring and using transit cards or reading menus printed in Dutch. We trust that we will handle things in Amsterdam as they occur, one step at as time.

It similarly doesn’t matter that that new app behaves differently. We will explore and figure it out as we go, one step at a time. Nor does it matter that we’ve never repaired that kitchen appliance. We know enough to shut off the power and get a screw driver. We can figure out what’s wrong and fix the silly thing, one step at a time.

We handle other unfamiliar things with far less aplomb.

Sometimes we encounter a new thing (or, for many of us, an old thing that we keep on tripping over) and freeze. Rather than proceeding one step at a time, we anticipate the worst, feel bad, then scurry back to the safety of our old ways.

Maybe we think these other things are too complex, too important, or too threatening. But notice that the only difference between us handling the new things confidently or scurrying away is in how we choose to think about the things.

We can manage anything…and manage them very well…one step at a time.

In your corner,

Mike

Today’s photo credit: Terri Monahan cc