Helen Keller, Leo Marvin, & Almer the Younga

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." -Helen Keller

I like this quote a lot. Maybe it was the situation I was in when I first heard it, maybe it's because I like cheesy one-liners, maybe it's because it is a great way to look at life. I'm about to start my second year at BYU, and with that comes time for some serious decision-making. I need to start planning for THE REAL WORLD and THE REST OF MY LIFE. Both very daunting prospects! But I need to stop worrying about what I'm going to make of myself, how I'm going to save the world, and where I'll be in ten years. All that will work out as long as I keep doing the little things right. While I was pondering this, I came up with the fun little idea to make the following list: Here is my ten-minute brainstorm of...

The Things I ACTUALLY Do Every Single Day:
(This is different from the list of things I SHOULD be doing every single day.)

• Brush my teeth
• Check my email
• Check my Facebook
• Climb hundreds of stairs—down 32 then up 147 every morning, then down 147 and up 32 every evening. That’s 179 stairs each direction, for a total of 358 stairs in all on my way to and from campus. Yes, I counted.  
• Decide what to wear
• Eat
• Fuss with my hair
• Get in bed
• Laugh
• Look in the mirror
• Make a list (either on my phone, my computer, or on paper)
• Make an entry in my Daily Gratitude Journal
• Make mistakes
• Pray
• Read at least one verse of scripture (more, ideally)
• Send and receive texts
• Smile
• Sub-consciously hum a song
• Think about the people I love

I'm not saying I need to make lists and get in bed at night as if these tasks were great and noble. (Although sometimes that's exactly how they feel.) It's just a cool thought exercise to be aware of all the little things that make up our lives--some that we never even think about. In the end, it's the little things that define us. It's the way we live our lives every day. There are things I spend time on every day that I shouldn't; there are things I should do every day but don't. 

I definitely plan/worry/stress too much. When I'm trying to do better or make progress or get something done, I need to remember Leo Marvin, who said it well: "Baby Steps."

But the Prophet Alma said it better: "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6).