Talking to a friend after last week’s guest post from Teresa Tanner, my friend mentioned she was both impressed and a little intimidated.

I get it.

And that’s probably the last thing Teresa would want.

Here’s an invitation to an alternative approach:

1. Let’s not compare our insides to someone else’s outsides. Better yet, let’s drop comparison altogether. We’re each walking our own path.

2. That post was someone sharing a practice she’s been refining for years, probably decades. It came from the inside out, not the reverse. As Teresa brought forth from her insides, we’ll bring forth from our insides. We each have our own treasures.

3. Getting up at 4AM or 5AM works for her, maybe not for you, definitely not for me. It’s not the hour that matters, it’s the consistency and having a practice you do first, before anything else.

4. Spending an hour in a morning routine is not the goal. The goal is a consistent practice that serves you and the life you want to create. I’m at thirty minutes now, but I started at five, because of Rob (see next).

5. Start small. At McDonald’s, one of the labor attorneys was Rob Liddle. He stood just over five feet tall, and thanks to bodybuilding, with shoulders about four feet wide. When I asked Rob about working out, he said, “Your goal isn’t strength, or flexibility, or body shape. Your first goal is consistency. Go to the gym every day, even if you’re only there for five minutes. Go every day. Build from there.”

6. Treat it as an experiment. Try different things until the things you try click and fall into place. Expect to continue making adjustments over time.

7. Set up a small reward system to help you be accountable to your daily practice. A few years ago, I tore my rotator cuff and it never quite healed right. In my car, when I reached for the navigation screen, a sting of pain ran from my forearm to my shoulder. This June, I started physical therapy. When my shoulder mobility improved enough to be discharged—with a strong admonition to keep up the exercises or my shoulder would regress—I knew I needed a system. Besides making it a weekly accountability item with Adam, I set up this simple but powerful accountability and reward system:

When I draw my heart for the day, I say aloud, “Good job, Jule,” and repeat the words at the top of the page. We’ll talk about those words next week.

Be gentle with yourself as you take small, consistent steps toward doing something different. Think of yourself as a toddler. They fall down a lot. They don’t need reprimanding or shame. They need to be held.

Chewing the Cud of Good

Thankful for my one wild and precious life.