I’ll admit up front—I struggle with how to start something new.
When I’m considering doing something new, I automatically get the feeling that starting is an all-or-nothing proposition. I’ve got to get all the parts moving in synchronicity from the start.
Synchronicity (noun)
- the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
Busted.
What about you? I’m guessing I’m not alone here.
These days, we all seem to be uncomfortable with how to start anything new to us. It doesn’t matter what, it can be anything. Most of the time we’re afraid of looking bad, or stupid, or we’re uncomfortable with being a rookie again. Unless, of course, we just got picked in the NFL draft. Then rookie status is cool.
I’m going to go right out on a limb here from the start.
Whether it’s right there front of mind, or if we have to dig a little to see it, we all know we have too much on our respective plates. Right? I mean, we’re all suffering the same state of overload. Let’s admit that much to ourselves.
So, here’s the question. You’re probably going big on more than a few obligations and activities in your life. And that’s not automatically a bad thing. You may be handling your load just fine, but it can be problematic too. Like when you try to add more to your plate. Because, well, you’re expected to go big, right?
What if you started by going small?
Is there something that you’re interested in where you’re thinking you might want to go small instead? And maybe even stay small? This can be an effective strategy for us full platers.
Remember our old friend, the Pareto Principle (a.k.a. the 80/20 Rule)? Applied properly, we should be going small on almost everything we pursue and limiting going big to our top twenty percent. Otherwise, we end up over-committed, over-stressed, and just plain exhausted.
The idea for this post hit me last Saturday while at an Earth Day event in Santa Fe. Please, please, please don’t bail on me if that’s not your kind of thing (which is completely okay). I promise I won’t be going all granola on you.
Lanette and I were just out on a weekend morning learning about water conservation, wildfire safety, recycling, keystone species, and other interesting topics worth knowing about.
I wasn’t there to go all in—I just wanted to know how to start.
You know… What’s the first step? And maybe the next, but only if it’s super easy. Because, c’mon, just like you I’m thinking about my slightly overloaded plate. Do I even have room for more right now?
So, here’s what happened. Usually, when Lanette and I go to events like this we end up splitting up so we can search, engage, learn at our individual paces, and skip anything that just doesn’t float our respective boats. I’m usually the one skipping ahead until something captures my attention. Then it can be hard to pull me away.
The next table I saw was on composting. Yeah, I know, and it seems everything they say is true—especially the smell that’s produced by the more advanced methods. All of which was on display for all to experience smell and all. Gak!
Here’s the thing…
I’ve been modestly curious about learning a few simple composting methods.
You know, the basics of the basics. If I can reduce what goes into the landfill, why not? So, one of the nice ladies at the table must have noticed me scanning the brochures as I paused (keeping what I thought was a “safe” distance from the table). She greets me inquiring, Are you a composter?
I’ll bet you anything she was thinking, Oh I’ve got a live one here!
I didn’t want to be rude or anything because I just wanted to grab a brochure and move on. But I took the “bait” and asked her, “Soooo, what are a couple of simple things I can do around the house to help the soil and keep a little more out of the landfill?” (Note couple, simple, help, and little).
I gently tried stopping her as she ramped up the speed and bounding excitement with every word of her pitch. “You can save all your vegetable scraps, yard trash, toilet paper tubes, even broccoli stalks, and meat scraps… did you know you can compost meat scraps? Then you can take them to any of the community composting pits in the county. And it’s freeeee!”
I felt like I was about to be booked on the compost cruise line…
I try to pivot. “Wai-wai-wait! I’m a spread your coffee grounds in the garden guy.” I’m just wondering if there’s anything else that…”
She jumps right back in… But it’s so easy!
Sigh. Yes, that’s it. I just want to learn about the really easy stuff.
You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.
The point here is that I only wanted the next step. I wanted to explore one or two things beyond coffee grounds. That was it.
I don’t blame her for showing excitement. She was clearly into the whole creating free dirt thing. And let me tell you, she-was-passionate!
And this is the key to remember when teaching others.
Not everyone is as passionate about certain things as we are. We should first check our passion for our interests with the person we’re sharing it with. Usually, the best goal is to help them find and take the next step.
Also in these situations, we should listen to our audience and trust what they’re telling us and go from there, taking measured steps and asking questions to gauge their interest.
Does starting small sound better to you?
Let’s recap…
- First off, avoid the urge to go big. Starting something new is rarely an all-in affair.
- Starting small is always an option, and usually—it’s the best option.
- When teaching others, don’t let your passion get in the way of helping them to simply begin or take the next step.
Just start with the first or next step and find out where it leads.
Be untucked.
p.s. Know someone who might like this post? Be sure to share it with them. Thanks…
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