The Happiness of Baby Steps
In psychology it’s called “successive approximation” or “shaping.” In business seminars across the world, it’s the popular Japanese technique of continuous improvement known as “kaizen.” Except for the universe itself, which seems to have boomed into existence with one big bang, it’s the way most things grow. Personally, I like to call the process “taking baby steps.”
I like “baby steps” for two reasons. Well, okay, three. First, it reminds me of playing the game “Mother May I?” when I was a kid. Players had to ask the leader if they could take a ten baby steps toward the finish line. If we remembered to use the phrase “Mother May I?” our request was granted. If we took the steps without asking, we had to start over again. Baby steps were carefully taken, little tiny steps, where one foot barely moved past the other. Otherwise, you were cheating. It was a fun game, and I associate the fun of it with taking really small steps.
Secondly, “baby steps” reminds me of the way real babies learn to walk. Man! Are they determined little critters! Nothing discourages them. One little bit at a time, they practice standing, balancing, moving one foot, getting up from the floor, balancing again, moving one foot, holding on, moving the other foot, letting go. They just keep practicing and practicing and practicing until the whole complex process comes together and they’re out in the yard chasing the dog across the grass.
(And three, I like it just because babies are so doggone adorable that the mere mention of the word ‘baby’ makes me smile inside.)
“Inch by inch,” said Dr. Robert Schuller, “anything’s a cinch.” “The journey of a thousand miles,” said Buddha “begins with a single step.”
I have a friend who has a list of a couple dozen things she wants to accomplish or master and every day she makes a check mark by the ones where she has made even the slightest move forward. She calls it her kaizen list. And over time, she accomplishes more than anyone I know.
Want to clean your bedroom? Pick up a sock. Want to demolish that heap of papers on your desk? File one piece, or three, or throw one or two away. Want to create an exercise routine? Practice moving some part of you for two extra minutes every day. Want to read more books? Get one out and read a paragraph or page a day or during each TV commercial.
Nature paints whole landscapes by opening its buds one tiny millimeter at a time. One straw at a time, a bird builds a nest. One brick at a time, a man builds a cathedral. One more smile each day, one more act of kindness, one more whisper of gratitude, and pretty soon, your positivity ratio has permanently tipped to the plus side.
It’s a great way to build your happiness practices. Give it a try.
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