Down to the Single Units

“When you're feeling down just hold your head up high and don't think of the whole big thing. Just focus on doing one thing at a time. You'll see that you will accomplish a lot, if not everything at the end of the day.” ~ Author unknown

Occasionally, when I go shopping for groceries I also purchase a small bouquet of flowers to display on the kitchen table. There is something special about fresh flowers in the winter – their fragrance can turn the grayest of days into a sudden burst of spring.

Yesterday I brought home a bouquet of mixed field flowers. I removed the wrap and looked for scissors to trim the ends. I couldn’t find the “good” pair, so I had to settle for the ones that don’t cut too well. When I tried to cut the stems they only bent, so I tried to apply more pressure to see if it would help; again, the stems bent a bit more but still remained attached to the flowers. I gave up my original thought of cutting the bunch of them and focused on severing one at a time. When I tried to cut just one, the blades of the scissors went through the single stem like a knife cutting butter. If I had followed that approach from the beginning, instead than trying to get all the stems cut at the same time, I would have finished sooner rather than later.

Many of us approach most tasks in the same fashion, only to become discouraged and overwhelmed by the mere thought of getting started. We try to tackle the whole array of tasks as a collective unit, and end up just getting irritated by our inability to succeed.

Huge undertakings are seen as a wall looming in front of us, which will suck our life energy as we try to either climb over it or remove it from our path. It is significant to remember that no matter how solid the wall might appear, it is not a large single unit we are powerless against, but rather a group of many smaller units connected together to form a larger structure. We might not be able to move the wall from the path as a whole, but we are certainly strong enough to remove one brick at a time.

When we feed energy toward removing the whole wall, we set ourselves up for failure and create an excuse why we shouldn’t even attempt. If, instead, we pace ourselves and focus on removing one brick at a time, we are able to direct our energy where it will make a difference.

We could push the wall for hours without moving it an inch and easily fall into the grip of frustration, but we can instantly see the brick taken from its original position and moved where we want it. With each brick that we move, we wall is less threatening. Small successes can add up and trigger strong feelings of self-satisfaction and worth, as we are able to see results of our applied effort almost immediately.

So whether we are facing cutting the stems of a bouquet of flowers, removing debris from our path, losing unwanted weight, or facing a daunting task of any nature, it is helpful if we break the structure of what we are hoping to conquer into small units that we can focus on one at a time. By doing so we are not neglecting the whole, but rather we are ensuring that each part of it is properly addressed and polished to perfection.

The Power of Taking the First Step

“Take the first step, and your mind will mobilize all its forces to your aid. But the first essential is that you begin. Once the battle is started, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance.” ~ Robert Collier



Whenever it is time to face laundry in my house I understand how Ulysses felt when he found himself in front of the Cyclops - with three children, two of which are teenagers, laundry at my house easily falls into the categories of scary and overwhelming.

Yesterday was laundry day. With five baskets sitting in the way, and coats the kids had shed after school piled up on top of the washing machine, the laundry room was filled to capacity; just looking at all the work ahead was enough to make me want to grab my car keys and run.

I began by separating the colors from the whites and organizing them in separate baskets. Once that was done, and the first load was started, things immediately looked less daunting. By the time the first load ended up in the dryer, and the second one was on its way to being washed, I was ready to take a breath of relief.

It is quite normal to feel helpless when facing an overwhelming task; whatever is in front of us feels so big that we feel powerless in its presence, and it is natural to become frozen on the spot, scared to do anything that will cause the dominoes to fall. Taking the first step appears as a Herculean task, and we come up with countless excuses to delay the inevitable. Taking the first step is all we need to do. Once we get started, a second step quickly follows the first, and then a third lines up before a fourth; before we know it, everything is done and we are back in control.

This concept applies to many things we face on a daily basis, but it particularly applies to change. We are afraid of the unknown, and worry that the approaching wave will pick us up and thrust us toward unfamiliar waters; and, while we are so absorbed by our fears, we forget that we do know how to swim.

So, no matter what awaits out there, know that you can do it. You might feel that you are in front of something huge and overwhelming, but quite often the fear of the monster is much bigger than the monster itself. Once the light of reason shines on its shadow, we gladly see that the monster can be easily slain. It all starts with the first step of choosing to win.