Just 1 Step

I'd like to piggyback on last week's message and take a few minutes to consider taking Just 1 Step.  If you've selected one thing to focus on for the new year, often that may involve some type of action, especially if we are people who like to make resolutions.  We've got 1 thing we have decided to focus on for the new year - something we are working to stop, or something we are wanting to start.  Regardless of the selection, there is most likely some kind of action involved.  

For example, let's say we want to eat healthier in 2026.  An admirable choice, however, even though that is just 1 thing, it is still pretty general. This is where it can be helpful for us to figure out Just 1 Step we can take to practically get us moving that direction. In this example, maybe it's deciding to stop eating after 7 PM. Or perhaps it's taking Just 1 Step and eliminating soda from our diet. Breaking it down from the one thing of eating healthier into a very simple, single step can make the start of the journey much easier.

When I am coaching leaders on implementing change, this process of finding that single step can be freeing because it means we only have 1 task to accomplish to get started.  Here are a couple of tips I have found to be helpful in determining that 1 Step:

What's the actual starting point?  Let's say we want to rewrite the policy manual for one of our departments. We can't start the whole manual all at once. Would the first step be to rewrite one section? Maybe the starting point would be to review the current manual and decide what we want to keep and what we need to fix? If we break that down even further, maybe the first step is to schedule an hour on our calendar to review the current manual?  When we really examine the process and clearly focus and actually find the starting point (the actual First Step), we can then take that 1 Step and begin moving forward.  Momentum has begun!

What might be the obstacles? As we consider Just the First Step, it may also be helpful to consider what could get in the way.  Using our policy manual example, maybe one of the obstacles is that reviewing manuals is boring! That could mean it will be hard to tackle it, even if we've put that hour on our schedule! With that obstacle in mind, perhaps we also need to build in some accountability for ourselves. So, we ask one of our colleagues to check in with us the day after we have that hour on our calendar to make sure we actually used it to review the manual. Then, when the hour arrives and we are tempted to do something else that's more exciting, we have some extra motivation knowing that our friend is going to ask us tomorrow if we did it. Or maybe we realize an hour all at once will feel like too much of an obstacle, so we schedule 2, 30 minute sessions at different times to make it more achievable? Anticipating and planning for the obstacles can also help us get started and create momentum.

If you've decided to Pick Just 1 Thing to focus on for the new year, what would be Just 1 Step you could take to get moving? Could you break it down even further and figure out what the actual starting point is and make that your First Step?  What obstacles might you encounter in taking that 1 Step, and how could you creatively approach those barriers so they didn't get in the way of actually taking The Step? The good news is, when we've taken that 1 Step, momentum is now on our side!

Here's to Taking Just 1 Step this week on your journey of a whole new year!

Be Well,

Stephen

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