Tackling Problems One Step at a Time

When I get a client who comes to me with really significant problems, they can get exasperated even thinking about tackling them. When we break it down together in therapy into smaller tasks or goals, they can feel like we’re not addressing the elephant in the room. But we are, and the reason why is described beautifully by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.” Handle what is in front of you, and before you know it, you will have gotten through the bigger challenges you were worried about. Being in therapy can help make sure that we are keeping on the desired path, but it doesn’t need to actually be as insurmountable as it can feel to address.

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson