Tall Task

What do you do when the task at hand seems so overwhelming that you don't know where to begin? The mountain of problem(s) is larger than you are able to accurately evaluate and attack. You want to make changes and create impact, but it really seems too big to overcome. These are life circumstances that seem to overwhelm us at every turn.

• Your marriage has been ignored for so long that scars have built up that deaden your sensitivity. 
• Your addiction has such deep hooks in you that are scared to think about the innumerable steps in recovery.
• It's been so long since you spoke loving & encouraging words to your children that the wall of mistrust is bigger and stronger than your willpower. 
• Your passion for making a difference is tempered by the sheer volume of damaged, hurting people surrounding you and the deep strongholds that refuse to let them go. 

I'm reminded of a great quote from Pat Riley, general manager of the Miami Heat, who said (about the immense work in front of him), "I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony. I know what I'm supposed to do-I just don't know where to start." The truth is that we can look at our circumstances in the same light. When faced with this mountain we get to choose one of two reactions: be so overwhelmed that we are paralyzed with the enormity of the task or choose a direction and start ferociously working to at least see some progress. I'd rather invest effort in trying something than finding failure through passivity and fear.