Put Your Shoes On: The Next Doable Step

Debbie was featured on Forward Metrics.com as the post of the day with the article below. Read the full article on Forward Metrics.com here.

Several years ago, I hired a running coach. On our first phone call, my coach said to me, “Ok, Debbie. You are going to go outside and run for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Can you do that?”

And I said, “Yep. Absolutely. I can do that.”

A week later, when my coach called up to check my progress, I was honest. I told her I’d done nothing and that I just wasn’t inspired to run.

My coach (who I had hired to GET me to run, in spite of my resistance) thought for a moment, and then said, “Alright. Let’s find the next best option. Can you go outside and just commit to running for five to ten minutes? Three days a week?”

I said, “Yep. Absolutely. I can do that.”

And again, my coach called for the weekly check-in and I told her the truth – that I’d yet to even step out the door. She thought for a moment, stymied, and then suggested, “Debbie, I don’t want you to think about running this week. I just want you to wake up and put your running shoes on. ”

“That’s it?” I was convinced I could do this, but skeptical about how helpful it would be.

“Yes,” she said. “Put your shoes on and just see what happens.”

So, the next morning, I threw my feet over the side of the bed and stared for a moment at my shoes. Next I got them on and laced them up. Once I had them on, I thought, “I might as well go outside for a little while.” Once I was outside and walking I thought, “I’m OUT here, I might as well run a few steps.”

And so I did.

And those few steps became a quick & dirty mile – all because my coach had the foresight to help me find the smallest doable action step. She knew I was capable but blocked (resisting the choice that I had made to move myself forward). By shifting my focus away from my resistance and towards something utterly easy and infallible, she freed me from inertia and results naturally followed.

Now I tell this story in my trainings, because it can be applied to life in so many ways.

When you are stuck or overwhelmed, what can you do to stay in action? TAKE action – ANY action – no matter how small it may be.

One thing will lead to another and sooner rather than later you’ll be back on the road to a more inspired and fulfilling life.

Another way to say it? When you’re stuck, don’t focus on what you CAN’T do. Decide upon and focus on what you CAN do. It might make all the difference.