Big Shifts Usually Start with Little Steps

This week, I had the pleasure of recording an episode of the Portraits of Strength podcast with Harry Nukala. The episode will be out in a few weeks and I can't wait to share it with you. 

As we talked through the pivots and big choices that have shaped my life, Harry noticed a pattern: I identify a need, want, or gap, then experiment iteratively to fill it. Her observation holds true for me, and I suspect it does for most people. 

For example, many people I talk with are shocked that I "quit my career and moved into counseling and coaching." From the outside, the shift looks abrupt, rapid, and surprising. But from the inside, this shift came gradually, over years of experimentation. I wasn't fulfilled in my career, so I went through a process to identify what I wanted to focus on: I researched options, pivoted my corporate job, and began a program of study. My move into counseling and coaching happened over half a decade of iterative introspection and experimentation. 

In our world of highlight reels, it's easy to see another's path and think, "there's no way I could make a change that big." But whatever you're seeing probably didn't happen overnight. None of the big changes in my life - marriage, adoption, moving to Utah, facilitating orphanage service trips to Mexico, entering counseling - happened quickly. They were all the results of iterations of experiments and steps that eventually brought me to a radically different place from where I started. They're all big changes, and they all happened through many small steps and small choices. 

This means you, too, can create big change in your life. Big change doesn't have to be reckless, and it certainly doesn't have to be rapid. All it takes is identifying a gap or desire, getting curious, and running an experiment that creates a little movement. A few small changes may be enough to meet the need. Maybe your little experiments end up accruing to a big life change. Either way, you're architecting your life to fit you better.