Ten years ago, I had back surgery for the second time. Because my spine was fused, total recovery was six months—an eternity for a busy-body like me.

The first two months of little to no physical activity made me restless. The next several months of low-impact workouts was emasculating. Basically all of the participants on YouTube were senior citizens, if not gray-haired women.

That’s not a bad thing. But it was for a thirty-something like me who was impatiently wanting to return to full activity.

The first day was really hard, even though it was incredibly easy movements like knee lifts and “touch the sky.” I was exhausted after only a few minutes, which made me feel worthless.

But then something happened. In the days that followed, I started to find momentum and rhythm to my workouts. I started getting stronger, even though I was only doing basic calisthenics.

I grew to love those low-impact workouts and the generous older fitness coaches that shared them with me. On the last workout before I was able to move to high-impact exercise, I even cried. I was so grateful for those low-impact “baby steps” if you will that got me to the next level.

Life almost always works like that. We’re each asked to swallow our pride and start small before taking on bigger challenges. Sometimes we’re asked to start all over again, which can be even harder.

But I’m grateful for “baby steps” at all ages of life. They always get us to the next big step, which I’m deeply grateful for.