Start again

Habits are broken all the time, and when that happens, you need to allow yourself to go back a few steps.

Progress is very rarely linear, and thinking that it is, might actually keep us from starting again a healthy habit we have just failed at for a while.

If you were used to run 10km a week and you have not done that for a month, would it make it easier to start again with 2km this week?

If you are used to meditate for 20 minutes a day and you have not done that for a month, would it make it easier to start again with 5 minutes today?

If you are used to write 10,000 words a week and you have not done that for a month, would it make it easier to start again with 5,000 this week?

We are not machines and we need to be able to cut ourselves some slack once in a while.

Highs and lows

Find the strength to cherish both the highs and the lows. One would not be possible without the other, and they both have lessons to teach about who you are.

What is wrong?

How many of the things we call our flaws, of the traits we don’t like about us, of the behaviors we want to hide, are such because we are in the wrong situation?

Are we really afraid of speaking in front of an audience, or is it because we have always spoken in front of the wrong audience?

Should we call ourselves temperamental, or is it because nobody has ever took a minute to explain what was happening?

Do we really reject close relationships, or is it because the people we have been close to have hurt us deeply?

Are you wrong, or is the situation wrong?

Should you change yourself, or should you change the people you are with, the things you are doing, the place you call home?

Always work on yourself.

And figuring out what is wrong is part of the process.

Inescapable

You might be able to achieve something average by putting in some average work. But to achieve something extraordinary you need to step out of your comfort zone. And that means you will feel discomfort, uneasiness, resistance, friction, awkwardness, and a whole lot of other not so pleasant things.

“Easy” and “talent” are stories sold by those who have already made it – to explain the unexplainable – or by those who have watched others make it – to keep their own chances up.

If you are in the process instead, you know that the simple rule is true and inescapable.

Not selfish

You owe it to others to spend time with yourself.

You owe it to those you love and to those you engage with. It’s not a selfish act. It helps you to feel confident and comfortable with whoever you are, which is something you ask others to do all the time. In relationships, at work, in casual conversations and encounters.

It starts with you.