Give yourself some grace

When starting something new, the most important part is the starting part.

Just start. Once you’ve started, you can improve incrementally.

We tend not to do that – we tend to want to over engineer the schedule, how much, how often, how long, best shoes…. whatever.

That’s all bullshit.  

Start. Walk that mile, ride that bike, do the yoga, paint the picture, hike the trail – whatever.

New habits and rituals take time and are a process, but the #1 thing is to start and don’t stop – for like 2 months or more. Do it blindly, religiously, without question… and tell your lizard brain to shut the fuck up - every day.  

Then after a couple of weeks, go buy that new pair of shoes….. read that article on how you’re supposed to be doing it, buy that book on 10k dumbbell exercises--- whatever. Improve your position now that you have some momentum in the new ritual.

We tend to beat ourselves up, over engineer, come up with excuses.

Stop doing that. Give yourself some grace and tell yourself – this may be a process, but I am going to do it. Then step off and don’t look back. Better every day.

This weekend I ran a Half Marathon in the Smokey Mountains. Eight Months ago I was not even running.

I started on a cold February morning with a 1-mile jog on a country road in the dark and almost got myself and my dog killed- Give yourself some grace.

Just Start, leave the getting better part to later. I’ll come.