Celebrating small steps

I’ve observed a number of conversations recently where people are coming up against what appears to be a brick wall of tasks.  There’s so much work to be done, an infinite number of problems to be fixed, a huge number of people to convince….

Daunting is a relatively weak word for what it feels like.

Let’s recognize that this is just a part of the human condition.  Nobody is meant to have it easy, even for those who appear to have it all together.  Where do we come up with the energy to fight the important battle?

One key trick I have is to celebrate positive progress, no matter how small.  That will support my ability to maintain the optimism that anything is possible, only given enough time and focus.  I have more resources than I recognize, there are others who have a similar passion to mine, and I’m making little teeny bits of progress every week, every month, every year.

Am I fooling myself?  Yeah, in a way.  Sometimes I don’t make any progress, even have to take steps back.  But that’s life, and that’s other people’s actions.  Despite that, it’s important for me to continue to maintain my mindset of possibility and optimism.  So instead of moving into despair, my challenge is to learn as much as possible from the challenges and then to move on.

If you’ve been following my career blog, you know that I lost my job in Spring 2009.  It was a deep emotional blow, of course.  But my faith and attitude was core to my ability to work through the disruption.  I’m not totally through the challenges, as my company isn’t yet showing a profit, but I’m working hard to celebrate the small steps and keep optimistic.

It’s a daily challenge, but worth the effort.