Chipping Away.

The moment I see a really huge project staring me in the face, my first thought is, ‘Oh, my God! What am I going to do about this?‘ because it always feels like a lot more than I can handle. It makes me feel a lot smaller than I know I am in the face of something that big. I think that it is natural for any of us to feel as though we have bitten off a lot more than we can chew, by taking on projects that seem like a lot.

But who knows? Maybe we will end up surprising ourselves by doing a good job of it, eventually. I’ve been asked before how I deal with big projects, and the honest answer is I don’t really know how. Then again, I think about it and realize that the only way to tackle something big is to start somewhere and chip away at pieces of it until you get to a point where it no longer feels like something difficult.

Last evening, I had been sitting in front of my laptop, wondering how I was going to be able to write a full-fledged e-book for my job within the next three days, and today, I feel like this could be something I might actually end up doing before my deadline, because I have already chipped away at a sizeable amount of the project.

Was it easy? No. My hands are shaking from having typed pretty much the entire day.

But am I learning something new about my abilities with every other project assigned to me? Absolutely.

We cannot possibly know what we’re good at until we give ourselves a chance to do well at something. We might not always be able to gauge ourselves based on what we have already achieved, but we can always achieve the things we have set our minds to. It’s not always an easy path to walk, but the more you do it, the more you’ll realize that maybe this is something you’re actually good at.

The next time you have a potentially huge project in front of you, take a beat and let yourself wrap your head around it for a minute before you dive into it. I’m sure you’ll do a good job of it when you allow yourself to be in the zone entirely, but you have to let yourself assess the situation.

Also, this is a reminder that you are capable of a lot more than you realize. We’re always trying to expand our limits and get ourselves to do things bigger and better than yesterday. Don’t be surprised if you think you’re ready to take a step further and do something you weren’t previously used to. You might do a really good job of it.

One step at a time, right? Xx

---

Featured Image by Brooke Campbell on Unsplash