If you’ve ever seen What About Bob you’ll understand the title behind this post. Bob, played by Bill Murray, is a man who is terrorized by fear. His irrational fears prevent him from living a normal life and taking any risks. Bob meets with a doctor who encourages him to try small things; baby steps. Bob takes this advice to heart and decides to vocalise his baby steps in everything he does: “Baby steps onto the elevator…Baby steps onto the bus.” He can’t imagine doing something big but he is able to push himself one tiny step at a time.
Can anyone relate to the protagonist of this story? I know I can. Sometimes it is beyond difficult to try new things and make changes, even ones we really want to. We want to eat better but when we say no sugar we eventually cave and give into our long lasting habits. We decide to exercise every day but fall off the band wagon in less than a week. Not only do we fail to do these massive lifestyle changes but we become angry with ourselves for not being strong enough to do what we set out to do.
How do we combat this discouraging cycle?
With baby steps.
The greatest things in life take time. Rome was not conquered in a day. Long lasting, true, powerful changes take time.
Remember also that we are holistic beings. What we eat effects how we exercise, which effects our mood, which effects our relationships with others, which effects what we think about…and so on and so forth.
If you want to change the way you look you need to change the way you see yourself. If you want to change who you are you need to start caring more about others than just yourself.
Make small goals and stick with them. Once you’ve done that, challenge yourself with a new goal. You’ll be amazed at what you can do if you start small and make little changes.
So…what baby step are you going to take to get on the bus?
