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What’s the one thing you could do to help get you moving in the right direction?
It often only takes one thing to get the ball rolling. It doesn’t even need to be anything that significant. Let go of trying to find the “right thing”. There is no right thing. Anything will do. It could be taking that first step towards establishing a new routine, admitting aloud that you are struggling or making a healthy choice for the next meal that gets you moving again.
Some weeks back, I was struggling to feel motivated to do anything. There were many reasons. Among them, my routine, like a pack of cards thrown up into the air, landed everywhere. I didn’t know where to start recreating order, and so for a while, I did nothing.
For me, having no routine is a stressful thing. I decided to pick one thing, anything, and just start. I let go of the either/or – either I needed to get everything in order, or it wasn’t worth doing anything. The idea that something has to be all or nothing is not helpful. It is rooted in perfectionism and has a way of keeping you exactly where you are or working maniacally to achieve some unreachable place.
My one thing was creating an alternative workspace – clearing a desk and moving some boxes. Was it my ideal space? No, but this one thing, organizing a second desk area at home, helped to get me on track with some of my other routines and habits.
A couple of weeks later, I still feel like I’m moving forward. Organizing that home workspace was a small thing. It didn’t take long, but it made me feel like I was taking back some power in my life. Did it fix everything? No, but it made me feel like what I do makes a difference – even those small choices. It encouraged me to start creating a healthier routine in other areas.
I feel like the ground is shifting a little less under my feet. While the future is still uncertain, and there are many things beyond my control, making that one change has helped put me on the right path and created a little bit of certainty amidst the uncertainty.
We can all manage one thing.
If you’d like help getting the ball rolling or just want to talk about anything I’ve written in this post, connect with me here.
Beyond the Shadow 