“Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are.”—Squire Bill Widener (Popularized by Theodore Roosevelt)
I love big ideas, big dreams and big action. So I constantly remind myself of the power and wisdom in starting small.
We’ve been living on the off-grid ranch for almost a year (moved out in late May 2024). And while I would have loved to immediately have a garden, chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, cows, donkeys, livestock guardian dogs, rainwater catchment, start canning and preserving food, a food forest, permaculture and xenoscaping methodologies to help rebuild the soil, grow our own herbs and herbal remedies, and ALL. THE. THINGS. in place… we’ve taken it a small step at a time. I haven’t even tried to make sourdough starter or bread yet (I’m told this is a requirement for homesteaders).
But we have four chickens. They’re amazing! And they’ve been my “practice” chickens. I had never raised or cared for chickens, never built a coop, knew nothing about their diet, potential illnesses, the differences between breeds… basically the extent of my chicken knowledge was “they lay eggs and eggs are both yummy and nutritious.”
So jumping into 100 chickens would have been overwhelming and risky. By spending the last six months caring for these four, assigning myself a reading list of chicken and poultry care books, learning how they communicate, their behavioral cues, how to balance their diet and keep them healthy, now I’m ready to scale up.
Right now I’ve got a handful of eggs incubating (I started with 5, not 24 or 100, because I don’t know enough yet to take a jump that big when it involves the lives of tiny animals), I’m in touch with local farms and chicken mamas about adopting a few additional breeds, and next week we’re building a bigger coop to house more chickens safely.
Small steps. Consistent steps. Eventually we’ll get to the big dreams.
I’ve done the same with gardening. I once killed a cactus (I was 6, and it looked thirsty so I gave it Dr. Pepper—did not help). I’ve done small scale hydroponics indoors with some success. But I’d never actually gardened in dirt.
So a few months ago I bought some aloe vera plants. They’re still alive.
Last week I started seeds for a variety of vegetables (they’re sprouting) and planted potatoes. I also discovered the insane difference in how to start different seeds, what doesn’t start from seed, the difference in direct sow vs. starting seeds indoors, companion planting, and more. I’ve got a small library of gardening books I’m reading through and gardeners I’m learning from online.
Eventually we’ll have a raised-bed greenhouse and in a few years I hope to be growing the majority of our fruits and veggies. And long term I want to actually revitalize the land here…
By doing it a piece, a phase, a step at a time, we’re more likely to succeed and stay motivated enough to keep going.
I can’t learn and do ALL. THE. THINGS. today. Or in a month. Or in a year. But five years from now? We’ll have made amazing progress.
So I keep that long-term vision in mind and focus on what I can do today, from where I am, with what I’ve got.
From my perspective, that’s one of the reasons we’re surviving out here when so many give up before they make it a year. Tackle one challenge at a time, give yourself grace, unexpected challenges will come up and if you’re already doing too much you won’t have the resources (energy, brain power, finances, etc) to tackle the unexpected ones, too.
Whatever goals you’re working towards, consider the small steps that will get you there, instead of trying to make them happen overnight.
Small steps count. Today I’m celebrating that. Yes, I’ve got a BIG vision. And, it will happen a step at a time and that’s more than okay—that’s perfect.
Love this! Especially 💗 that 6 yo you gave Dr. Pepper to a “thirsty” cactus! 🌵 An early and unforgettable small step in gardening. I’m currently taking small steps to health and wellness.