Often, when we’re facing a huge overwhelming pile of tasks, we can feel overwhelmed and discouraged, and we put it off. Or decide not to even try.
This is the usual response.
It’s too hard. It’s impossible. It’s a huge mountain of clutter, of bills to pay, of emails and messages to answer, of tasks to check off the todo list.
The idea of having to tackle a mountain is not usually helpful thinking. We can’t tackle a mountain, it’s impossible to do in any moment. We can only take one step at a time.
So if we can let go of the idea that we have to do all of it … we can just focus on joyfully facing the next thing. It’s like if you had to talk to 1,000 people … could you just focus on the person in front of you, and really get present to that person?
Enjoy every step up the mountain, and don’t worry about climbing the entire mountain. That will take care of itself.
gratefully,
Leo Babauta
Zen Habits