Wellbeing: Baby Steps
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been putting off writing this very newsletter for a good while. Life, commitments, excuses… they all got in the way. And the longer I left it, the harder it became to get back to it. Borderline hilarious, that this was the very Blog topic I was putting off writing!
We aren’t perfect. None of us are. And that’s the point. Sometimes the toughest thing isn’t the work itself, it’s facing ourselves. The truth is, you’re your own favourite customer. If you can’t be true to yourself, how can you expect to be true anywhere else?
That’s why this blog is about baby steps. The tiny actions that make the big ones possible.
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." – F. Scott Fitzgerald
He’s talking about nuance, but it works just as well for contradiction.
In a prior blog, I went on about the importance of now — how nothing is ever achieved tomorrow. And here I am, about to contradict myself (slightly).
I believe in action over procrastination, 100%. But the biggest lesson I’ve learnt over the past few years is this: no task, no job, no project is too big if you break it down. The bigger the task, the smaller the steps need to be.
“Baby steps” is the perfect description. And yes, you can plan them. It’s okay. 😉
Why Baby Steps Work
We start life mastering the impossible, language, movement, independence. We don’t stop trying; we win in tiny increments. As a dad, I see it daily. At swimming lessons, on a bike, even just tying laces. My youngest doesn’t get to fully enjoy those things until he’s good enough to find his freedom in them. And each new challenge he faces is tough at the beginning and becomes easier or more enjoyable over time.
As adults, that need for growth doesn’t disappear. It just feels harder because our routines and excuses are stronger. Change isn’t harder, we’ve just stopped challenging ourselves the way we used to.
The Enemy Within
Here’s the problem: you’ve got a competitor dead set on holding you back. Yourself.
Your subconscious will throw up excuses:
“Are you insane?”
“The sofa’s comfier.”
“Tomorrow’s a better time.”
It will highlight risks and justify the delay. It’s sneaky like that. So how do you outsmart yourself?
Bare Minimums
Forget the dream version of you. Don’t bin it, just put it on ice. Focus on the actual project at hand.
Example: you want more upper-body strength. You dust off the gym card, promise to smash out sessions, maybe even add cycling, swimming, the full works.
Reality check: you currently do nothing. But tomorrow, you’re going to become beast mode four times a week? Good luck with that.
Instead, make a contract with yourself. Strip it down to the bare minimums.
When I set out to write a novel, whilst dealing with dyslexia, kids, and a full-time job, the only way through was a bare-minimum agreement: 30 minutes a day, early morning before the house rose, and only on the days where that routine was possible. That way, I wasn’t setting myself up to fail. And it worked.
Small Commitments
It’s not about big goals. It’s about tiny commitments that keep momentum alive.
If greater strength or fitness is a goal, then why not do some stretching, sit-ups and press-ups whilst your kettle boils or your coffee machine gargles away of a morning. If you don’t make the gym that night, you’ve done enough. It’s progress, however small. And those baby steps make it easier to take bigger ones later.
Action: Do This Now
Take five minutes and write down:
- Your goal.
- A simple structure that breaks it into smaller steps.
- Your bare minimum contract with yourself.
Stick to that contract. That’s where the shift begins.
Summary: The Power of Baby Steps
Change isn’t about grand gestures or overnight transformations. It’s about small, consistent steps.
Want to be braver, stronger, more creative, healthier, or more present? Break it down. Pick the smallest action you can commit to today and honour it like a promise to your future self.
Leave your phone in a different room an hour a day.
You don’t need to become your best self tomorrow. You just need to act like them today in the smallest, most achievable way possible.
That’s how we close the gap. That’s how change begins.
Fill the Void, today.
James
P.S. Please get in touch. Did you make progress, or hit a wall? Drop a comment, email or DM me anytime.
