Fresh Start Monday #81: Congrats, you showed up!

The writer Steph Smith shared that her yoga teacher always starts the class with:

"Congrats. The hardest part is over. You showed up."

I've been reflecting on the power of that statement.

Have you ever gone to the gym for 15 minutes and then returned home?

Have you ever started a drawing and stopped several minutes later?

Have you ever gone to your work office and decided to go home after an hour?

None of these ever happen.

We may not always want to do these things, but once we start, we find the energy to keep going.

I had two realizations come up.

1. The less friction to start, the less friction to quit

Let's take the example of working at a coffee shop. I wrote about how many people are more productive at coffee shops several weeks ago.

Starting to work at home is easy in the sense that you have wifi, there's no commute, and it's free.

However, it's also easy to stop since the kitchen is nearby, laundry needs to be done, and nobody is watching you.

If you go to a coffee shop, you need to get dressed appropriately, shower, and you'll see other people working diligently.

The initial effort to leave your home keeps you at the cafe. It would be silly to leave after 30 minutes. And did you really make all that effort to browse Instagram?

I recently joined a gym. It's much easier for me to workout for 45 - 60 minutes compared to home workouts that I'm just trying to get through.

In which areas in your life are you prioritizing convenience in exchange for a less optimal environment?

2. Optimize for the start

For perfectionists and overthinkers, it's easy to overemphasize on what or how to do something.

Let this line remind you to focus on showing up.

Don't abandon the good workout, the good diet, or the good painting habit in search of the perfect one you'll quit doing.

The best example of this for me is meditation. I would love to meditate for 20 minutes every day, but I can never sustain it. 10 minutes every day is far better than 20 minutes intermittently.

Optimize for consistency. Anything else is a bonus.

In which areas of your life does striving for perfection keep you from showing up?

Local to Boulder, CO?

On March 28th, I’ll be hosting Pages to Progress a monthly workshop held on the last Thursday of every month that delivers key insights from bestselling non-fiction books and helps you apply them to your life.

For March, the book is The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. by Robin Sharma.

You can register through Meetup. March 28th at 6:30 pm MT at NowHaus. $25

Join us Tuesday (3/26) on Meetup for a free biweekly journaling group.

Thoughtful Tuesdays - Biweekly Journaling Group

Tuesday, March 26th at 6pm MT. Location: Private residence. I’ll send out the address 24 hours before the event starts to anyone who RSVP’s as going. Cats will be present.

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Part of its power lies in its co-creation. Book a free 30-minute chemistry call to see if we’re a good fit:

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