Saturday, October 26, 2013

Baby Steps - Making Peace with Slow Progress



Fresh out of college, idealistic and somewhat naive, I had a conference wish. I hoped that Monday morning at work, after our weekend church services, my face would be all shiny like Moses. My co-workers would bask in the glow and ask, "Lynn, what is this glorious light emitting from your countenance? " It would open a door for me to explain the reason for the radiance and share my faith. 

It never happened.

There have been few overnight changes, giant leaps, or God "POOF'S" in my life.

Change is so daily. Incremental. Little by little.

It seems like God is into this little by little personal growth plan:

"Wealth gained hastily will dwindle but whoever gathers little by little
will increase it." Proverbs 13:11

The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you,
little by little....
 Deut 7:22 

Not a very marketable plan. Can you imagine signing up for the Little by Little Seminar. Join us Friday and Saturday, your life might take one teeny tiny baby step forward. 

No one would pay a penny for that conference ticket.

And yet this is how I experience life change. Little by little.
One foot in front of the other. (Click to Tweet)

What if we celebrated these changes they way we celebrate a child's first steps? Clapping. Smiling. Snapping pictures to capture the amazing moments, the slow progress.

If you have visited my website today after the Shine Women's conference, I want to encourage you to take a deep breath and plan for the long haul of gradual growth.

Try these post conference strategies:

  1. Review & highlight your notes
  2. Compile all your highlights into a summarizing list of stand outs
  3. Create a separate list of action items
  4. Schedule coffee with a friend to talk about your take away
  5. Map out one idea to focus on in each of the weeks ahead
  6. Set a date (mine will be Nov 22) to reflect on how you are implementing what your learned
  7. Watch for and celebrate your baby steps
  8. Join the conversation and share a conference keeper in the comments below: