Small Steps and Sustainable Changes

For me, recovery has been full of misfires and false starts, giant leaps and great backslides, recoveries and relapses. And I know that I am not alone in having that experience. And if you struggle with it, know you are not alone either. So this week, I wanted to look at how small steps can lead to sustainable changes in your routine.

The problem, at least for me, was that I had developed so many maladaptive habits to survive my mental health struggles. And habits are hard to break. Additionally, I frequently wanted to do a 180, turning bad habits into healthy ones overnight. However, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are healthy habits.

On the contrary, small steps are what lead to sustainable changes. When I started my meditation practice, I wanted to clear my mind for hours at a time. In reality, I was lucky if I got a calm mind for five minutes. My mind just wasn’t ready for a major meditation practice. It took time. It took practice. And it also takes compassion.

Because even with small steps, there will be plenty of bumps in the road. And those bumps can be extremely discouraging, especially when combined with the negative lies mental illness loves to whisper in the back of our minds. Yet, self-compassion helps those self-care practices bounce back when you experience those types of bumps.

And if taking these types of small steps is something you struggle with, know that The LegalMind Society has been there and we are here to help.