Baby Steps

Last night I made my own Tortillas for the second time. :-) Do you remember me saying I wasn't sure if I would make them again or not? This time I decided to apply the baby step principle. Made the dough and left it to rest. Came back and divided it up into balls and placed them in a sealed bowl. Came back a little while later and rolled out 4 of the balls into Tortillas and placed them on a dinner plate, covered in plastic to stop them drying out (used cut up bread bags between them so they didn't stick together). It took just another 2 stints of rolling out 4 Tortillas to complete the task. Come tea time I was nowhere near as worn out as I had been last time (when I rolled all 12 just before tea).

Well they were once again a HUGE hit with the family so I'm glad I've come up with a method of making them which seems less of a chore and more of a pleasure. I can see they're going to become a regular on our menu plan.

It got me thinking about the whole concept of baby steps and how much of a wonderful concept this has been for me. I know it's not a new concept. I first heard of it from www.flylady.net . I'll admit I don't follow her "system" completely - but I do like a lot of her concepts and have found them quite helpful.

I'm the kind of person who gets easily overwhelmed. If it feels like a task is going to take me a long time, I can't seem to even think about starting it. Breaking it down into smaller steps seems to work really well and takes away some of that overwhelmed, panicked type feeling I get. I think my DD might be similar. I've noticed when it comes to tidying up her room, she will dissolve into tears of desperation very quickly. But if I ask her to pick up 10 things or pick up her clothes off the floor - she can manage that quite cheerfully. It's just about breaking it down into babysteps.

I guess another aspect of my personality that lets me down is my impatience. I like things to be achieved "yesterday". :-) I'm sure that's something many of you will find familiar. We live in a fast paced society where everyone is in a huge hurry - even if they have no idea why. Like the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day", I can't help but feel that most things that are worth doing aren't going to just happen in an instance. If I can be content to take babysteps toward my goals, I can enjoy the journey as well as the final destination.

There are so many parts of life where the concept of babysteps can be applied. From learning a new piece on the piano (or learning any new skill really) to recoverying from a major illness.

I'm having to be content with babysteps in my new garden. And we're taking babysteps in turning our house into a home. :-) Even our journey toward simple living has had to be done in a long series of teeny tiny baby steps. Of course, the concept of baby steps itself fits in very well with the ethos of simple living.

Well, I'd best be off and apply these baby step principles to the lasagne I need to make for tea. I've been procrastinating as I can't really be bothered. :-) The meat sauce is already made so all I really need to do is make the white sauce and assemble. I guess there's an area of baby steps I haven't mentioned - they only work if you take a step. LOL. This lasagne won't make itself while I sit here.

What ways have you found the concept of babysteps helpful in your life?