One Step Is Enough

There’s an old saying: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s a strange metaphor, but it captures something deeply true about growth. Most of us don’t struggle because we lack awareness. We struggle because we try to change everything at once. Our trauma, our patterns, our habits, our stories, all at the same time. That doesn’t lead to transformation. It leads to overload. Real growth doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one step at a time.

That step might be one conversation, one honest decision, or one short walk instead of a full workout plan. It might be ten minutes instead of an hour. Not because we’re lazy, but because we’re human. I’ve noticed a familiar pattern in myself and in others. We go hard, then we crash. We commit big, then retreat. We push ourselves with intensity, then feel discouraged when we can’t keep it up. That kind of growth creates whiplash.

One step interrupts that cycle.

Taking one step gives your body, mind, and soul room to integrate change instead of forcing it. It creates momentum without anxiety and movement without pressure. One step doesn’t make you someone different. It helps remove what slows you down so you can move forward more freely as who you already are.

A friend and teacher, David Tensen, recently shared something that stopped me in my tracks. If you were born in 1900 in America, the average lifespan for a man was around 51. For a woman, about 54. And for many people of color, life expectancy was even shorter.

That’s not our reality anymore.

Today, many of us are living close to 50 percent longer than generations before us. Which means something important: we have more time to become. We’ve never been here before in human history. That reality raises a different kind of question. Not just How do I survive? or How do I succeed? But What does it look like to walk faithfully forward for decades? What would it look like to grow with intention over the long haul, not out of urgency, but out of devotion?

This is why one step matters. Not because we’re moving slowly, but because we’re moving sustainably. If you want to explore this idea further, I’d encourage you to check out David’s work and his book, which deeply shaped how I think about growth over time. People often ask, “But how do I know what my one step is?” It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Here are a few gentle ways to discern it:

What’s the first honest thought that comes to mind?
Often, you already know before you talk yourself out of it.

What could you remove, not add?
One step often simplifies before it expands.

What feels grounding, not urgent?
Anxiety shouts. Wisdom is usually quieter.

Your one step doesn’t need to fix your whole life. It just needs to move you forward with integrity. Transformation isn’t a moment, it’s a rhythm. One step builds trust. Trust builds confidence. Confidence builds freedom. You don’t have to do everything today. You don’t have to become someone else. Just take one step. And then, when you’re ready, take the next one.

If you want support taking that step, I help people move from awareness to aligned action, one honest step at a time.