From the Chapter, “Playing it Safe” in Unscribbling: the art of problem solving and fulfilling your desires.
Sometimes when you think of something you want to do, you imagine it in its entirety; in its largeness; in its allness. That can feel intimidating, and make you want to stick your head in the sand and do nothing. But if you reverse–bubble it down to manageable steps, it won’t feel that scary.
Remember, you don’t have to create ALL of the parts of your desire at once. Just start by taking that first baby step. Rome wasn’t built in a day. The Romans had their eyes on the prize, but took one small step after another to achieve greatness.
Take it from Shel Silverstein’s poem about Melinda Mae, who ate a monstrous whale. “She took little bites and she chewed very slow… and in eighty–nine years she ate that whale.” She started with a little bite from the tail.
Where can you start? Reverse-bubble things back to a point where that first step doesn’t feel scary, then dig in and get to work. Eventually, by tackling it bit by bit, you’ll fulfill your desire.
“Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still.”
–Chinese Proverb
Takeaway: You don’t have to take on the “all” of a project. Reverse-bubble* things back from your solution and find that first step. Then take it step by step.
* FYI- In the book we talk more about how to do this. Basically, work all the steps to accomplish your intention back by asking, “What do I need to do to do this part?” etc.
unscribbling.com 