Start When You Are

This week I’m celebrating 8 years of Fitness First — a ritual that began when I broke my habit of hitting snooze in the morning.

For the past 8 years, my morning workout has been the centerpiece of my morning ritual. For years it was about getting to the gym. But even when I didn’t have a gym, Fitness still comes first.

Fitness First means that my workout comes before getting online, sending messages, even thinking about my day.

It’s about starting my day in my body and not in my mind. And it’s also about not snoozing on my life.

I am constantly returning to the core elements of my practice to retrain the basics and revisit the lessons.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the importance of starting where you are and when you are.

Don’t get me wrong: I love aligning to the energy of the seasons and astrology and the days that are best for new things.

Although it’s nice to start new things at the start of a month or a week or a season or a year, it’s not necessary. And, in fact, it can be detrimental to wait.

When we set an intention and wait for the “right time” we might experience the Law of Diminishing Intent. Suddenly that target date rolls around and we have lost momentum. Then we don’t start.

Or we get caught up in planning mode and never begin. I have a tendency to fall into that trap.

Fitness First has taught me that we don’t need a lot of planning to begin something.

Sustaining what we start is a different story. We do need to plan for how we will keep it going when life shows up.

But that’s not the concern at the start. Starting and sustaining are completely different in terms of their strategies and the energy required.

You will have time to plan sustainability strategies once you have started. And when you’re engaged in the practice you will have a better sense of what might derail you, so the conversation won’t be hypothetical.

But a sustainability strategy is a waste of effort if you haven’t started yet.

The first step is to start.

Get clear on what you’re going to do. Get up and do it. Cross the threshold.

Start when you are.