Once upon a time, I woke up and found myself in a job that was sucking the soul out of me. I needed to leave. I gave in my notice with the view that I was going to finally take the leap and become self-employed (something that I readily admit was scaring the shit out of me). With a long notice period looming and my fear of stepping out on my own peaking, I decided to set a simple goal for myself: to do ONE thing every day that would move me closer to my goal of self-employment. That one thing could be researching how to set up my GST number or it could be having lunch with someone who I wanted to keep in touch with once I left my employer. This act of doing ‘one thing’, did many things for me.
It helped me feel less like a victim and more like someone in control. It helped me feel empowered in what felt like a very disempowering work situation and, best of all, by the end of my notice period, I had done 45 small things that added up to quite a lot. Thinking about what you want to do to change your lives or careers won’t get you there but one small thing every day will take you far. If you’re feeling stuck (especially if you’re feeling stuck in your career), don’t try and do everything to change things up… do one thing. And then tomorrow, do one more thing. It’s amazing how small actions, when compounded over time, can make a big difference.
What’s a small step you can start with today?
