One Step At A Time

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao-Tzu

Just as every day is the first day of the rest of your life, so is every step the first step that you will take towards your destination. It is the beginning step that determines not only where you will be today, but where the next thousand miles will bring you. One step can have a lot of repercussions!

A few years ago I got in a serious car accident. Following the accident there were a lot of things that I had to relearn how to do. My life had totally changed from that one experience; I had a long ways to go to try and get any semblance of normality back into my daily life. One of the things that I had to work on was relearning how to walk.

I remember that when I first awoke from the coma my parents had to help with everything that I did. My Dad even had to help me to get to, and then use the washroom. My body just couldn't remember how to do those things, which was really frustrating since I could still remember having done those things before the accident without any problems, but there were problems now. So, with the hope that I would be able to do these things on my own in no time I began physio and occupational therapy. To be perfectly honest, I never really enjoyed either physio or occupational therapy while I was in the hospital, what I had to relearn made me feel like a child again. But, despite my dislike, I knew that this rehab was necessary and so I worked my hardest to be able to take that first step.

My family will be the first to tell you that I didn't like what they left for me to do. They gave me a walker to walk with to help me to build strength until I could walk on my own. I hated that walker! All I could think about were the people who used walkers, children as they learned to walk (though their walkers are often in the form of toys) and senior citizens who are losing their ability to walk. I didn't think I fit either of those categories and so decided for myself that I didn't need a walker, and that was that. A couple of times they would ask me to walk somewhere and put the walker in front of me. But I didn't need that walker, so what did I do? I picked the walker up and just walked while carrying it. That didn't turn out so well, but I made my point. Eventually I was able to walk again, and about three weeks after being admitted into the hopital I walked out (without a walker).

Looking at such an experience, most people would say I was stubborn (the doctors and nurses would probably agree). As I reflect on this memory what I see is determination. I saw where I wanted my first step to lead me and I wasn't going to let a walker hold me back. I also see an understanding of personal accountability in this experience. I know that neither of these two things were on my mind while I was in the middle of the experience I mentioned, but looking back on it I can see that I was determined to achieve my goal, and I knew that only I was the one that could determine whether it was achieved or not.

That's the way it is with everything. As Lao-Tzu said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." First, you need to know where you want to end up, because a step in the wrong direction could be disastrous. Then you need to take that very first step. And when I say you, I mean YOU! No one else can make the step for you. It is only when you take that first step that you can guarantee the direction of your destination.

It's all one step at a time.