Baby Steps

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If you’re old enough to remember the iconic movie What About Bob I’m sure from the title alone your mind was just filled with some classic Bill Murray lines.  

I’m sailing!

In the movie, Murray’s character follows the guidance of his therapist by taking “baby steps” forward. I thought of his memorable character and all the baby steps he took, as I took a baby step of my own. As I wrapped up work and was attempting to relax for the evening, I felt the urge to open the Outlook and Teams apps on my phone.

There’s no reason for it, everything is probably fine, yet I feel that pull, that addiction to hear positive news. Unfortunately, it’s not always positive and even if it was I should not be solely relying on work to give me affirmations. As I stared at the Outlook app - baby steps came into my head.

Don’t check your email tonight.

That’s my baby step of the day. I may not be able to do it every night; I may not be able to change all my bad habits in one fell swoop… but I can start with one baby step in the right direction.

And not for nothing, today's the first day in a long time that I stopped working at 5. It’s only 5:44 and I’ve already enjoyed a lovely bubble bath and written two Sunday Starters.

Michelle Obama said “practice who you want to be every single day,” meaning that every little thing we do, contributes to the person we become. We don’t need to be there yet, we just need to practice; we need to try it. We need to take baby steps to who we want to be.

You can't change your world over night, but you can start with a baby step in the right direction.