I mentioned in the last post that we’re doing hard things at our house this year, so I’ve made a list of tips that might help in these difficult endeavors. The first tip comes from Anna’s advice to Hattie about how to survive her first semester at college—take one day at a time. Don’t think about the four years ahead of you. Don’t think about the whole fifteen weeks before Christmas break. Think about getting through the present. If one day is too long and hard to think about, concentrate on surviving for the next ten minutes. Ten minutes can sometimes feel like an eternity, but it’s doable.
We can apply this wisdom to any task. For example, don’t think about the whole Thanksgiving dinner; focus on one dish. Don’t think about the three point one miles of a 5k; concentrate on one step at a time. Don’t think about the whole manuscript; write one paragraph or the next sentence.
Broken down into parts or steps, any undertaking, no matter how daunting, becomes manageable.
Anna’s advice reminds me of the old joke about eating an elephant. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
I hope the elephant in your house is tender and tasty.
Leave a Reply