LIFE ONE STEP AT A TIME

Those years when I was a struggling fresh-from-school kid armed with nothing but my dreams, life became another school – a school of hard knocks. Knocking on company doors and trying to keep my neck above the swirling waters of a difficult life at the same time was no easy task. Most times I felt that everything just stood still --- perceived no movement no matter how much I tried. It was more like progress got farther and farther from my grasp and the hurdles just got bigger and bigger. The goal more elusive than I thought it was.

Until one day, I learned to step back (well, I was feeling miserable and close to giving up) and decided to take a good long hard look at how I was doing with my perceived feeble efforts. Only then did I finally get to see that I was doing some progress after all, small as they may have been in part and portions, but progress it was. Progress! And those small advancements or movements added up to one big achievement that finally got me to the top closer to my goal.

A ladder, whatever its kind and size, has rungs or steps we put our foot on alternately to get to the top. Such too is the so-called ladder of life. It is the ladder of life we’re climbing with our dreams, ambitions, and aspirations and we do it one step at a time or one rung after the other. And if you’re smart, you will step back once in awhile and check how you’re doing. You’ll be rewarded with the fact that you have made progress as you see yourself higher and farther from the bottom rung you started with.

So this is what it means, that without losing sight of your goal you take on the hurdles one at a time, one step at a time, and one day at a time. You can’t bunch them all in one big duffel bag and strap it over your back and trek down the road less traveled with its weight, so to speak. It will surely wear you down even before getting half way down the road or up the ladder of life. You’ll be giving up sooner than you should you’ll soon enough discover.

Learn to be kind to yourself. Pushing yourself too hard will only serve to dry you up quickly and sooner. Pace yourself and give yourself credit for whatever you have accomplished, big or small. Don’t let distractions or problems derail you – keep on track, move slowly but surely. One thing at a time is the way to go.

"If you're climbing the ladder of life, you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Don't look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don't think you're progressing until you step back and see how high you've really gone." -Donny Osmond

So what's your story. I'm sure you have one to share :-) Let's hear about it.