Have you ever looked at something you’d like to achieve and thought, “I’ll never get there”?

Perhaps the goal seems too big, the task too difficult or the amount of effort required too much.

Sometimes the answer isn’t to take a giant leap. It’s to take one small step, then another, then another.

There is a famous compound interest story about the Emperor of China who offered the inventor of the game of chess one wish.

The inventor replied that he wanted one grain of rice on square one of the chessboard, two grains on the second square, four on the third and so on through square sixty-four.

The unsuspecting emperor agreed to the seemingly humble request.

Yet, as the grains doubled from square to square, the total became enormous. The number of grains on the sixty-fourth square alone would be 2⁶³. The total across all sixty-four squares would be 2⁶⁴ − 1, approximately 18.4 quintillion grains of rice.

That’s more rice than the emperor could have imagined when he agreed to the request.

The video at the top of this page really drives home that concept of the Exponential Function.

If you’d like to take the idea a little further, you can watch the remaining seven videos in the series (ad) here.

The thinking behind Forward Steps

This is the thinking behind the name Forward Steps. When I created the site, I wanted to share small snippets of inspiration that might become the catalyst for someone’s next idea or action.

Forward Steps is all about providing you with small snippets that could act as a catalyst for your next idea or action.

Even small and incremental forward steps will contribute immensely to the whole journey toward a desired end result.

The rice story shows what can happen when numbers keep doubling. Our personal growth doesn’t always work that way. One small action won’t necessarily double your confidence or transform your life overnight.

Yet repeated actions can build skills, habits, courage and momentum in ways that become increasingly noticeable over time.

A little effort today may make tomorrow’s effort easier. A small success may encourage you to try something else. One useful idea may lead to another. In this way, small steps can contribute to bigger changes, even when the results aren’t immediately obvious.

Don’t underestimate the tiny steps

Watch the video at the top of this page and let it remind you that your next step doesn’t have to be a giant leap. Even a tiny action can be a meaningful beginning.

That thought quietly disarms more people than failure ever does. When progress is measured only in dramatic leaps, small steps start to look pointless.

Real change rarely announces itself with fireworks. It arrives through repeated, almost unremarkable choices that slowly shift your inner landscape.

A single drop may seem insignificant, however enough drops, added consistently, change the waterline entirely.

Procrastination often disguises itself as practicality. We tell ourselves we will begin when we have more time, more energy, more clarity or more confidence.

Yet waiting for the perfect conditions usually means waiting forever.

Action creates clarity, not the other way around. The smallest step taken today does more for your future than the most perfectly planned step that never leaves your mind.

There is also a subtle form of self protection at work here. If you do nothing, you cannot fail. If you only act when the outcome feels guaranteed, you avoid disappointment.

However, you also avoid growth.

Each small action is a vote for the person you are becoming. Even when the result seems minor, the inner shift is never small. You are training yourself to move, to choose and to engage with your own life.

Think of your energy, confidence or sense of direction as something that responds to use. When left untouched, it stagnates. When engaged, even gently, it begins to circulate again.

One email sent, one walk taken, one honest conversation started, one boundary quietly held.

These are not dramatic acts, yet they accumulate momentum in ways the mind cannot fully predict.

What could one small step look like?

Sometimes the difficulty isn’t knowing what we want. It’s deciding what to do first.

Perhaps you’ve been meaning to read more, become more active, make a phone call, tidy a neglected corner or have a conversation that’s been on your mind.

You don’t need to accomplish the whole thing today.

You could read two pages of a book. Take a short walk. Write down one sentence you’d like to say in that overdue conversation. Clear one small area. Make one phone call.

If you’re feeling discouraged, you could write down one thing you handled well today, however small it may seem.

None of these actions guarantees a particular result. Yet each one can be a beginning.

The important thing is to choose something small enough to be possible, rather than so ambitious that you put it off again.

Your next small step

Think of something you’ve been putting off, something you’d like to improve or something that would make your day a little better.

Ask yourself:

1. What is the bigger result I would like to move towards?
2. What is one action small enough to take today?
3. When will I take it?
4. What might make it easier to repeat tomorrow?

You don’t need to know every step of the journey before taking the next one.

Your next step doesn’t need to be impressive. It needs to be possible.

Keep adding those drops

So do not underestimate the power of showing up in small ways.

Your bucket is not filled by waiting for a flood. It fills because you keep adding drops, even on days when they feel unimpressive.

Over time, those drops become evidence. Evidence that you are no longer standing still and evidence that you are willing to meet your life where you are, not where you think you should already be.

You may not see a dramatic difference after one day. You may not even notice much after a week.

However, a small action repeated over time can become a habit. A habit can make further action easier. A collection of small actions can contribute to a result that once seemed too big to achieve.

That doesn’t mean every small step will lead to success. Life has setbacks, interruptions and circumstances beyond our control.

It means that doing something small is often more useful than waiting for the perfect opportunity to do something enormous.

After all, have you ever placed a bucket under a dripping tap overnight and seen the result in the morning?

What is one small, positive action you could take today?

Your next Forward Step may be smaller than you think.

Hi, I'm Thea Westra at Forward Steps (forwardstepsblog.com)

Since March 2003, I've been sharing practical, positive, thought provoking and inspiring self improvement content online. My aim is simple - to offer tips and resources that help us enhance our daily experience of life and to keep stepping forward. Perth, Western Australia is the place I call home and I'm the author of "Time For My Life: 365 Stepping Stones". You might also know me from the Forward Steps personal development blog and the daily series of "365 Forward Steps Notes", all designed to add wings to our unique life journeys.

CLICK HERE To Trigger More Of Those Forward Steps 'Aha' Light Bulb Moments!