You don’t have to see the whole staircase, you just have to take the first step…
This is one of those little sayings that, like the other one of which I am fond

“Unless you are prepared to lose sight of the shore, you will not discover new lands”

that sets out to make the challenges of change more palatable.
There has certainly been times in my life (and no, I’m not necessarily going to share them with you) when had I known the length of the journey or the challenges I faced en route, I would not have set off. But without the journey, with or without its struggles, I would not have got to where I am today (no, this isn’t going to be a Reginald Perrin’s boss moment). I have learned that the important thing is to know roughly what you want and simply set off in that direction.

If somebody had told me how many steps I had to walk to get to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa, and that the staircase would get narrower and narrower towards the top, and I might not have been so keen to set off. I was going to get to the top, and maybe, just maybe, actually not being able to see all the steps and that narrowing staircase helped.

So, next time you are faced with something that seems a bit challenging, why not just take a step? Even a single step is likely to move you closer to your goal, and even if it actually moves you away then you have the opportunity to learn something before you take your next step.

Go on, climb those stairs!