The Magic of Starting

She is sitting on the couch eating a bowl of fresh popped popcorn while watching Gilmore Girls for the 465th time and thinking, “I should get up and go for a walk.”

Another handful of popcorn enters her mouth. “Tomorrow is a new day,” she thinks.

Have you ever found yourself caught in the trap of “tomorrows”? 

And when tomorrow comes, what usually happens? Did the motivation to do the thing you promised magically appear? 

Yeah, not for me either. 

“Monday, I will start that diet.”

“Tomorrow, I will organize my closet.”

“Next month, I will join that mom group at the park.”

We seem to get trapped in the elusiveness of tomorrow, or Monday, or January 1st. These ideal times that we imagine hold the secret ingredient to our success to start something new or begin a new goal. 

I have a radical idea for you, and hear me out, because it is a bit out there.

What if instead of waiting even just one more second, you jumped up and you started RIGHT NOW! 

Even if you did just one teeny tiny thing that was going to move you towards whatever it is you were wanting to start, you would be one teeny tiny bit closer to it. And one teeny tiny bit further away from not doing it. 

Remember that first tiny step you took? Now it’s time to take another, and then another.

As you walk the path of starting something new, celebrate your accompaniments, no matter how small. 

I’m talking toss confetti in the air, do a happy dance in your kitchen, put it on the refrigerator kind of celebration. Don’t just celebrate the end result, the beauty is in the process. 

The magic of starting is found in the celebration of each step along the way. 

What have you been putting off starting? 

I don’t want you to even think about all those times you never started a project or goal. 

That was the old you. That was the you before you knew the magic of starting. 

Now, what is one thing that you want to start RIGHT NOW?

Write it down.  Write down one thing you can do right now. Then write down what the next 3 steps are. 

After that I want you to write the word - CELEBRATE. Yes, I want you to schedule an intentional celebration for yourself. Next to the word celebrate, write what you will do to celebrate this step. It doesn’t need to be complicated or extravagant, just something that you know your heart will appreciate. I have found that the more light you bring into any situation the better it will become.

Need a friend to celebrate with you?

Comment below and tell me what you are working towards and I will cheer you on along the way.

Fierce Self-Love Can Change The World

I believe that we have everything it takes to change this world. Each one of us, with our two hands and our open heart, has the absolute power to change this entire world. I know that is an audacious claim, but my mind cannot comprehend a world where the opposite might be true. 

Each one of us holds the key, the ticket, the secret sauce to make a change so great that it touches the hearts of people across this incredible home we share. 

But, where to start? How do we even begin to start this vast change?

Place your hand over your heart. That beating you feel, is where you start. 

That face in the mirror, is where you start. 

The only person you have control over is yourself. Although that might seem like not enough to make this great change, I assure you, it is the most powerful thing we have. 

When you wake each morning, you choose the mindset that you will carry throughout the day. When you sit down to breakfast, you choose foods that will either build and nourish or tear down your body.

When you walk into the world, you choose how you will interact with others. 

Change in the world, happens first with a change in your heart and a change in your heart cannot happen until you have learned how to fiercely love yourself. 

You cannot pour your heart out to the world, without first filling it up with love. 

When we actively and intentionally show ourselves love, we unknowingly teach others to do the same. 

Imagine a world where people treated themselves with so much love and compassion that they recognized that when they hurt another, they were actually hurting themselves. 

Imagine a world where people offered themselves, so much grace and forgiveness that they gave the same to the people around them. 

Imagine a world where people loved themselves so unconditionally that theythen turned around and modeled that same unconditional love to others. 

How do you care for your heart? How do you fiercely love yourself? 

I’m not talking about bubble baths and massages (although those are nice). I’m talking about grand, unapologetic love. 

This is the kind of love that has the power to change the world. It has the power to shift mindsets, to save lives, and to grow the love that will heal us all. 

It all starts, right here, with you and with me. 

Friends, I have started a new group called The Self Love Club. This is a group for people who want to intentionally change their lives by fiercely and unapologetically loving themselves. 

This is a space for courage, celebration, and community. 

I believe that what we give to the world is a direct representation of the love we give to ourselves. Let’s fill our own cups so we can go out into the world, and group hug the heck out each and every person.