5 Ways Baby Steps are the Secret to Creating
How do your creative thoughts become reality? How do you move beyond procrastinating and get into action?
For an idea to grow beyond just a thought stuck in your head, you must get into action. Many people never get their great ideas out of their brains, onto paper, and into reality.
For an idea to grow you must get momentum. Yet there are so many drama-filled thoughts that may derail your creative process.
Here are just a few we have noticed in our own lives, and what our clients tell us:
- “I have to have everything figured out before I begin.”
- “The whole idea seems too big. I get overwhelmed thinking about all the details.”
- “I don’t want to make a mistake, so it’s better to do nothing.”
- “Other people know how to do it better than I do.”
All these statements are based in the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT). In some way or another, the three roles in the DDT show up in those statements: Persecuting yourself for not having it all figured out—feeling like a Victim to your great ideas—or looking for a Rescuer who knows better than you do.
The idea of Baby Steps is a basic concept in TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)® and rests on the principle that creating something is an ongoing, incremental learning process. For some, Baby Steps can be translated to simply the “next step.” By whatever name, the magic of simply taking the next step that is yours to do (not someone else’s to do), is a personal empowerment move.
There are at least 5 important ways Baby Steps can get you unstuck and into action. Baby Steps:
- Prevent brain overload. You don’t go to the gym and plan to lift 300 pounds on the first day. Your muscles can’t take the overload. Baby Steps allows your brain to focus on one step at a time and doesn’t cause brain freeze. (And there is less chance you will lay awake at night worrying about all the details!)
- Protect yourself from the fear of making mistakes. Your ego wants you to do nothing until you have a comprehensive plan so that success will be “guaranteed.” Baby Steps are so much easier and most likely have a higher chance of success. And if the step is a mistake, you can learn and adjust from it before taking the next Baby Step. Because creating is a process, reframing “mistakes” into learning episodes can be a vital step.
- Leverage the power of the positive feedback loop. The carrot/reward system is proven! Taking a Baby Step, learning and getting feedback, triggers your innate reward system and motivates you even more. It’s a law of physics and inertia. Getting into action helps you stay in action.
- Propel you from Victim to Creator. You shift from Victim to Creator when you take responsibility for your actions. Taking just one small step, that is yours to take, reinforces your true Creator essence.
- Reinforce your human need for social interaction. Taking a Baby Step most likely (not always) involves working with others, getting their feedback, and building support. We never create alone.
Staying focused on just the next step interrupts brain overload and overwhelm. You start focusing on what you want to create, rather than the mistakes or problems that might occur. Your confidence builds as you learn and adjust.
By taking responsibility for getting into action, you begin to feel empowered and connected to others as you receive feedback and input. Baby Steps are truly the secret to creating the life and work you want!
