Last week I met with Sew Co. our new manufacturing partner for the 100 Blouses Project in Asheville to hand off the work on the final blouses. I had built this up as a really big thing in my head – but our meeting was relatively short and straight forward – 45 minutes – small talk included. I was almost – disappointed. It was such a big deal for this project – and yet the actual step of handing off the work was just that – another step. I was left with all this energy – having built it up so much. I walked it out and went and had tea at a fabulous tea house in Asheville – High Climate Tea Company.
I got to thinking about how our big work – our big exciting dreams, are just a bunch of little steps. Nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps the significance was big for our project. Bringing on a new partner who will carry so much of the work – but the actual work itself is just another step. And that is both kind of a let down (if I’m being honest) AND also a relief. Mostly when we look at the face of other people’s dreams – opening a tea house, launching a new community initiative – we see the big interviews, ribbon cutting etc. What we don’t see is all the very ordinary steps that got them there. Really big things are accomplished by a bunch of small steps. And so a distinction is necessary for us to prepare ourselves for the work – the work itself and the significance of the work.
I found this fact comforting yesterday – a Monday when I faced down a new and exciting – yet daunting work project. Significant though this work may be for me – it will be once again a series of small steps. And that is good news if you are showing up with a lot of fear on any given day – on a Monday for instance. The big picture may be exciting – you may be doing work that is very important to you – maybe it is important to your community – but today you only need to take the next steps. And go to bed and do it again.
And so that is how we can work through the fear – take on new projects that are novel and maybe – yes- scary. We need a lot of these projects these days – as so much around us is not working so well. And daunting though the big goals may be – they are just mile markers at the end of a series of very small, and yes sometimes mundane steps.
I am cheering you on through your very small steps to achieve your big dreams.
Go, fight, win.
Reid