What if the thing holding us back in life isn’t that we’re moving too slowly—but that our steps are too big?

Most of us feel pressure to cover ground; Fix it fast, Get there now, Make decisions quickly, Move on to what’s next. But what if speed isn’t the issue at all?

Years ago, my wife and I followed through on something we’d talked about for over twenty years—taking dance lessons. I instinctively felt the need to move around the dance floor and cover ground. The problem was my wife couldn’t match those steps and follow my lead.  All I kept hearing from the instructor was: “Take smaller steps.” The smaller the steps, the smoother the dance became.

Then I began to realized—this wasn’t just about dancing. That phrase kept showing up everywhere. I saw it the very next weekend doing acre’s worth of springtime edging, weeding, transplanting and mowing.  As I started early and at a feverish pace to get it all done in one weekend, my wife looked at me and said, “take smaller steps”.  She knew that at my desired pace I would be wiped out in six hours and need three days to recover; where with a “smaller steps” attitude I would cover more ground (pun intended). Big steps burn us out before the job is done.

When I was a defensive back coach in football and taught backpedaling, I stress smaller, quicker steps.  It keeps the player’s feet underneath them allowing the player to react quicker to changes in the receiver’s route as well as tackle better. On rainy days, it helps prevent a player from slipping. Smaller Steps – Feet underneath us – adapt to changing conditions. So, it is not about the pace of change or movement, but the size of each piece of change or movement. Think about it, smaller steps give us more balance and control. We are less likely to get out of whack.

When we take big steps, we overcommit, miss details, lose balance, get Blindsided by life’s uncontrollable events, Struggle to recover from mistakes.

The solution isn’t to slow life down completely. A former boss once told me, “Go slow to go fast” – strategic speed as opposed to operational speed. This thought process ties into form over speed. I learned that hiking the Appalachian Trail with my daughter Beth in Maryland. We came upon a hard rock scramble—gray area between hiking and rock climbing. She coached me with three words: “Form over speed.” With a weighted pack, one rushed move could mean a fall and pain. I needed to be taking smaller steps and be more aware of my form – strategic speed not operational speed.

Taking Smaller steps means paying attention to the little things. Little things can make a significant difference. We often have more input and choice over how we handle the small things in life. Throw a tiny pebble into a pond and the entire pond surface will have ripples of waves across it. A horse with a bit can plow a field; a ship with a rudder can sail across an ocean; a person with an empathetic tongue can share kindness, compassion and love.

It is important to appreciate life’s little things- a smile, a hug, a song bird chirping, the sunrise or sunset. It is also important to do the little things- say hello to someone we pass in the office or on campus; hold the door open for a person walking in behind us; a compliment for no reason. 

People like to define moments in faith with big leaps, movements or stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Maybe for some of us it is as simple as staying in the moment right where we are. We typically don’t hear people say, “Hunker down and see what God has in store for us.” However, God has begun a great work in us, right where we were; we just don’t recognize it.

Small steps aren’t weak steps. They are disciplined, intentional, faithful steps. They create roots. Take smaller steps. Build deeper roots. Trust that God handles the distance. Rejoice and Godspeed.