Perhaps today you take a walk instead of watching TV or surfing the web. Maybe you choose to put your partner’s needs above your own and compliment him or her on what they did well. Or you overcome an urge to engage is a destructive behavior or finally sign up for that hobby or class you’ve been contemplating for way too long. Maybe you spend a precious moment with a child or pet and allow yourself to be full present.
I like to remind my counseling clients that small steps may be taken at any point and each one can have a “ripple effect” similar to tossing a stone in a pond that can alter the entire body of water surrounding where the stone was dropped.
So next time you feel overwhelmed or think that the changes you wish to make seem huge or even insurmountable, instead, focus on the stone in the pond and make that one small step in the right direction then see how this can work for you as a foundation to build on as you make further strides.
Deborah Owens is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia and Spring House, Montgomery County
