Episode 53: Tiny Step, Big Momentum

One Tiny Step Can Lead Somewhere Unexpected

Hello, and welcome to Momentum Monday, episode 53. Lately, I've been thinking about how one tiny step can sometimes lead somewhere you never expected. A little while ago, I started doing delivery work, and I realized something. I actually really enjoy the job, 'cause it gets me out in the sun and has built-in exercise.

The only part that I really didn't like so much, was putting all those extra miles on my own car.

“Why Can't I Do That?”

And then one day I was delivering and there was another delivery truck, and I literally thought to myself, "Why can't I do that?

Why couldn't I deliver for a company where I could drive their vehicle instead of my own?"

So I looked. I found a delivery job, I applied, and literally the next day I had the job.

But that one little step did something else.

It got me moving.

The Jobs That Felt Intimidating

I'd been looking for jobs for a while, and I had seen social case worker positions with the county and looked at them since, I wanna say, May.

But those jobs just felt so intimidating to me.

I would read through the job description and all the different qualifications and responsibilities, and I didn't think I was qualified enough.

And honestly, I had applied for other jobs before that I thought I was fully qualified for and didn't even get invited to an interview.

So if I couldn't get an interview for a job where I thought I can absolutely do this, why would I apply for a county social case worker position where I wasn't even sure if I was qualified enough?

So for a while, I didn't.

Why Not Try?

But somewhere in the middle of all of this job searching and applying for that delivery position, something shifted.

I finally thought, "Why not try?"

Not I'm definitely going to get this, not I'm completely qualified.

Just why not take the first step and see?

'Cause remember, I've been looking at these applications since May.

One Application Became Four

And once I started, I didn't apply for just one social case worker position.

I applied for four different social case worker positions but with different emphases.

And let me tell you, that was not a quick process.

I spent a lot of time going through each position and customizing my application to show how my experiences connected with what that particular job wanted or needed or described.

I looked at my experience in education, my experience with working with children and families, my experience in the military, my experience supporting people in different settings.

And instead of looking only at what I hadn't done before, I started looking more closely at everything I had done.

And I started using the resources I had already around me.

Using the Resources Around Me

One of those resources was a letter of recommendation.

There was someone I had worked with years ago during COVID who had seen me in a position where I really felt like I was able to shine.

I had taken on a lot of responsibility, I had created systems, I had solved problems, I had worked with different people.

I had been able to operate in a way that really showed what I could do.

And somehow, it had never occurred to me to ask this person for a letter of recommendation.

I could have asked him years ago.

It just didn't cross my mind, so I didn't.

But this time I did

So I texted him.

"Hey, sir, would you mind being a reference?"

"Sure. What else can I do for you?"

"Would you mind writing a letter of recommendation?"

He's like, "Sure. , When do you need it by?"

And I really needed it, I wanna say, two or three days later, which is a really quick turnaround.

So I didn't wanna tell him like, "Hey, you need to get it done, tomorrow."

So what I did instead, I just told him by when , , the application was due.

And guess what?

I received an outstanding letter of recommendation that spoke to things I knew I had done, but that someone else had also been able to see in me.

And all of this came from finally being able to get started.

My Tiny Step Wasn't Four Applications

That's what I want you to think about for this Momentum Monday, because my tiny step wasn't apply for four county social caseworker positions.

It started much smaller than that.

At one point, it was literally me looking at a delivery truck and thinking, "Why can't I do that?"

Then I looked.

Then I applied.

Then I started looking at other possibilities a little different.

And eventually, I was spending a week working on applications for jobs , not that long before had felt too intimidating for me to even seriously consider.

The First Step Doesn't Have to Get You All the Way There

I still didn't know what was going to happen.

Taking that first step didn't guarantee an outcome, but it did get me into action.

And sometimes that's all we need from the first step.

We don't need it to get us all the way there.

We just need to get us moving.

Your Momentum Monday Question

So today, I want to think about that thing in your own life, the thing you've been thinking about, the thing that feels overwhelming, or maybe the thing that intimidates you so much that you haven't even really allowed yourself to get started

And here's my question, what is one tiny step you can take today toward that thing that has felt overwhelming or intimidating just to get yourself into action?

You don't have to finish it today, you don't have to know exactly where it's going, and you definitely don't have to have the entire paths figured out.

Just look for your first tiny step because you never know what that one little bit of movement might set in motion.

Until Next Time

Thank you for spending a little bit of your day with me.

Until next time, I'll see you for Tip Tuesday.

Until then, I hope today's episode helped you create a little more clarity, feel a little more calm, and have a little more confidence.  💜💚