Small Steps – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Realism for moving forward

Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash

Procrastination is a habit that can swallow chunks of our time. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes hours, and in certain situations even weeks. What can we do to move forward once we’ve fallen into that swamp? Here’s what works for me.

Habits. One of the great tools that support me every day is a set of habits I’ve learned to enjoy and fine-tune (I’ve written in several posts about VELA and REMO, which hold the eight habits that shape my days). They’re hard to keep, yet they give me perspective and, above all, the humility to remember that they exist, that they forge my character and make me a better person.

Awareness. Next comes the awareness I’ve developed for when I feel I’ve fallen into the swamp, or that I’m about to. What it gives me is freedom: the freedom to choose whether to climb out or sink deeper. The truth is that when I don’t choose to go into the swamp and it just happens on autopilot, time stands still and things pile up. It feels like the mud is up to my neck, and however hard I try, I can’t get out. Now, as soon as I sense the fall coming, my first step is to tell myself that falling isn’t wrong, and that avoiding the fall is also good and makes me feel much better. So I’m more intentional about going in and about knowing how to get out. Which brings me to the next point.

Courage. It takes effort and willpower to take the steps that bring us back onto the path. Fatigue itself can cloud the mind as we weigh giving up, procrastinating or taking a "pit stop" to catch our breath. That decision is where my strategy lies: hold on a little longer, take small steps and stay on the road. It isn’t easy. By small steps I mean asking "what’s the least I can do?" And in those small pieces of doing I find productivity, satisfaction and, paradoxical as it sounds, the drive to keep going and do more.

Patience. Life as we live it today has very little patience in it. It’s a habit we’ve completely forgotten, and we want things without effort, dedication or much focus. Patience is the essence of knowledge and, above all, of success. It’s the ingredient that makes everything possible.

Purpose. Last but not least, purpose ties everything above together. It’s very hard to climb out of a mire of procrastination if what lies ahead, those small steps we can take, has no meaning. Life is easier to carry when our actions are directed toward a firm and, above all, inspiring purpose.

Happy Sunday,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. This week’s VELA:

• What I was Watching: This week I earned the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Beyond the personal achievement, it’s the result of hard work and, above all, of the trust every client has placed in me. It has been an honor to partner with them through my coaching, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. A very special thank-you to my trainer, Alfonso Medina, for his guidance and patience (thank you, maestro), to the whole wonderful network of coaches at Success Unlimited Network (SUN), to ICF, and especially to my wife for her support. You are a fundamental part of my project. The best is yet to come
• What I was Listening to: Is the World Wise? A short podcast by one of my favorite authors, a philosopher I follow.
• What I was Reading: La conquista de la voluntad. A book I bought on Amazon that got lost for a couple of weeks before it found its way to me. Very revealing, from the etymology of the word will to the strategies for developing it and taking it as far as it can go.
• What I was Learning: How to Know Yourself. I admit I know myself very little, and every day I discover something new about myself. Life has rewarded me in many ways, and even so, I haven’t been humble enough to recognize how little I know myself. This is one of those videos I want to watch again and again until I’m old.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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