What will you commit to and how will you remember?

Okay, I trust that you have come up with a couple of practices that you’re excited to get started on.

I want to give you a few reminders about engaging in practices. 

First of all, be specific about what you’re doing, when you’re doing it—and the “why” that you’re doing it for. You might have a practice that you only do three times a week. You have to be specific about the “when.”

I shared with you last week that one of my new practices is walking the block every day. I have to take my dog out anyway, so this is an easy everyday thing for me. For me, it’s every day, sometime in the middle of the day, when I take my dog outside, I walk the apartment block. My why is because I’m committed to moving my body more often.

The second thing to keep in mind is that resistance is normal.

You might come up with a practice that you know will support you in moving in the direction you want to go. And then you naturally find yourself resisting it, finding reasons or excuses not to do it. Totally normal! Anytime we go to create change in our lives, we’re going to bump up against some resistance. Growth requires that. 

Sometimes, all it takes to push past that resistance is to connect with our why. Remembering why it matters to us, and why we’re bothering to do it in the first place. But sometimes, the resistance is stronger than that, and we’ll find ourselves challenged to actually do what we know to do—even though we know it’s good for us.

That’s the perfect time to reach out for support. That’s exactly why we have coaches. (That’s why I have a coach!) So that when I hit resistance, I can be in communication and get the support I need. If you find yourself resisting what you know is good for you, reach out to me. Maybe that’s a place I can support you.

Third, it can be helpful to track your practices. There are a number of ways you can do this. It could be as simple as just marking on your calendar that you did what you said you were going to do.

I love it. I’m a paper-and-pencil kind of girl, so I love being able to hold on to something tangible and check it off. It’s very satisfying for me. You might want to create a note in your phone or make a spreadsheet if you’re one of those handy Excel people (I am not).

However you want to do it, it can be really supportive to track your practices as you go and see how much you’re accomplishing… or maybe how little you’re following through.

I hope this video series about practices has been helpful! 

I can tell you that engaging in these consistent micro moves over time has been amazingly life-changing for me. I revisit my practices every so often. I drop some when I no longer feel like they’re serving the intention. I adopt new ones anytime I want to grow in a specific way.

I’d love to hear from you about what difference has it made for you to explore your practices and make new commitments.

See you next month!