Just Take The First Step!

It seemed as if my internal gears were grinding and the hills seemed higher than usual. Nothing changed externally. The usual daily routines and rhythms somehow demanded much more from me than before. I recognized that I was running out of something. I hit an internal wall?

I knew I had to, but the very last thing I felt like doing was hitting the road for my usual run. I put my running shoes on. Still not convinced that I was going anywhere. Nothing shifted. I eventually mustered up some motivation and declared a walk. I still thought to myself – maybe I just need to get out or have a change of scenery more than I need to run.

Exercise has always been that good space of clearing my head, processing, unpacking, relieving stress, praying, or simply just being! I love the nothingness at times. No talking. No demands. No thinking. No nothing. I walked the first kilometer out. A lot slower out of the starting blocks than usual. It felt strange because I never walk on that particular route. My mind was busy, purging the clutter. And then… I began to run, completing the usual kilometers.
The toughest part of the exercise was seriously stepping out of the door!

Sometimes it’s just about TAKING THE FIRST STEP. The anticipation of taking that first step feels undoable. The gap between the present and the first step, insurmountable! Out of reach. You know what you have to do. You know it’ll be good for you. But you just can’t seem to get there? Just take the first step.

Once I’d hit my running groove, these thoughts emerged:

• If you don’t take the first step, you’re staying where you are. And that is not a comforting thought! Who wants to look back after months, maybe years, only to discover, you’re still in that same undesirable space or place? Take the first step.
• When you take the first step, the forward movement creates momentum. Stagnation can’t create momentum. But, if you take that first step, the rhythms and routines have a fair chance to kick back in. Or create a new momentum. (Don’t get me wrong. It was physically stretching to mentally strengthen. What do you need to stretch to strengthen?)
• When you take the first step, the view you once had, alters as you venture out and begin to see a wider view. Toward home, I passed a commotion. A shop owner was crying out for the security guard, running toward me, to help! I managed to ask a bystander what was up- while running, I might add. His shop had been hit. It hit me!

When you venture out and take the first step, it puts some of your world back into perspective. It did for me. It widens your view. It gives you a panoramic perspective. Your world is not the whole world.

My usual 6k run turned out to be a little adventure after all. What if I hadn’t ventured out? What if I hadn’t taken that first step? I guarantee you; I’d have been in that same headspace for longer.

If you want to say: I ‘did’ it. Then you have to ‘do’ something. What is it that you need to do? You just can’t seem to get there? You know what you have to do. You know it’ll be good for you. The first step is usually the biggest. Maybe it’s making that call. Making that change. Taking that risk. Saying yes. Having that conversation. Helping you. Walking away. Signing up. Starting that… Or taking that walk. Just take the first step. It will alter you, alter your momentum and it will alter your view.

I knew what I had to do. I knew it would be good for me. I took the first step. Your turn.