Episode Details

A new season makes me want a fresh start. I start thinking about routines I want to get back to and projects I’m finally going to finish.

And then I remember how easy it is to turn a fresh start into a huge assignment. I will confess to being a serial starter. Nothing makes me happier than planning and then beginning something new. I love it. I also know after years and years of starting things, that finishing them is NOT my best thing. 

Maybe that’s you too? 

I wanted to walk every day when the weather was nice, but I didn’t really stick with it. What did stick was going to the park to walk nearly every Sunday. I can keep that up until the weather stops me. 

Maybe you began writing a book, or starting a blog or you wanted to get your home organized, and then life got busy. If that sounds familiar, you don’t need to go back to the beginning, there’s no need to start over. There’s no perfect anyway.  

You can just pick up where you are.

That’s something I have to remind myself of, because once I’ve missed a few days, or a few weeks, it can feel like I’ve failed. But the time you spent trying still counts. You learned something about what works for you, what gets in the way, and what you might do differently now. I recently heard the idea of never miss two. I am pretty sure this is from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

He talks about how daily intentions, like working out, or walking or journaling, whatever you want to commit to doing each day is a worthy goal, but to also understand that there may be days where you just can’t get to it. Maybe you’re sick, or something completely unexpected happens. 

It’s okay. Never miss twice means you don’t berate yourself for missing once, you just make sure you don’t miss again the next day. That’s how you build the habit and give yourself some grace when you can’t follow through. 

You’re allowed to begin again in the middle. You don’t have to wait for Monday, a new month, or a moment when you feel completely ready. Instead of making a grand plan for the rest of the year, what is one small step you could take today?

Put your shoes by the door. Open the document. Text the friend you’ve been thinking about. Give the project ten minutes because it all counts.