Back when I was a personal development virgin, I hired a very smart coach.
 
When I told her that my number one goal was to drop 30 pounds and get back to my pre-baby body, she said:
 
“Great goal. Let’s start here: what’s one part of your day that you’d like to change?”
 
One part of my day? I thought, feeling confused. What’s this woo-woo crap? How about non-fat cottage cheese and a new fitness regime? I want results!
 
But I played along, curious to see where this conversation was going.
 
“Well … my mornings are completely insane. I’m usually hitting the snooze button five or six times … screaming at the kids to get up … rushing to get them off to school … by the time I sit down to work, I’m already exhausted. I know it can’t be fun for them, either. It’s stressful and makes me feel like a bad mom.”
 
“OK,” she said. “We’re going to get you to your weight loss goal, but first, I want you to focus on changing your morning routine. I want you to start your day feeling peaceful and calm, instead of frantic. I know you can do it. And once you do that, it’s going to make it easier to do everything else.”
 
She was right.
 
Little by little — by setting the alarm clock back in five minute increments, over the course of several months — I became something I’d never been before:
 
A “morning person.”
 
And not just any morning person. A peaceful, happy morning person who got up a full hour earlier than she used to … and who had a few moments of stillness to think about the question, “How could I take loving care of my body + mind, today?”
 
Changing one part of my day gave me the confidence (and energy) to change other key parts of my day, and eventually, my whole life.
 
It was THE must-do step that — for years — I’d been skipping.
 
So, now it’s your turn.
 
Whatever your biggest goal is, I’m here to ask you:
 
“What’s one part of your day that you’d like to change?”
 
Start there.
 
Change that.
 
The rest will follow.
 
 
Susan