One day during my Public Defender years, I was in court when my husband, a mutual friend of ours, and I ran into each other in the hallway. “Wow Jordan, you look great! Have you lost weight?” My husband complimented his buddy.
“Yea, I finally got my butt back in the gym,” he nodded. “Once you’re out of the routine, it’s so hard to get back into it. I pushed it off for too long.”
“Tell me about it,” Orlando replied, knowing his exercise was also overdue.
Jordan continued, “What’s crazy is when I finally bit the bullet and started working out again, I remembered how good it felt. I’m not sure why it’s so hard to get back into something even though you know it’ll feel great. I haven’t felt this good in years.”
My husband and I nodded in agreement. We both knew exactly what he meant.
Recently a girlfriend of mine was telling me how she was struggling with her social media videos. “Remember when I was shooting video consistently?” she sighed. “I’d finally overcome the fear of being in front of the camera, and now that I haven’t done one in a while I’m intimidated again!”
It’s so easy to stop doing the things you know are good for you or your business. And it’s so difficult to get back on the saddle when you’ve fallen out of your routine. This is true in all areas of life.
I’m guilty of having lost my rhythm… and that’s why I haven’t written a blog post in over a month.
What happened to me
On December 25th, I was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia. Although I wrote a few short Instagram posts, I felt too weak to generate a full blog/newsletter. After being released from the hospital seven days later, the doctors told me to “take it easy,” “slow down,” and “rest a lot.”
I spent most of January obeying the doctors as best I could, taking that time to work on my end-of-year finances, which I hadn’t been able to do during my December book launch. I also focused on getting organized, simplifying my life, sleeping and starting a meditation practice. But I didn’t write a single blog post.
With each week that passed, I remembered that I owed you a blog post, but I found an excuse why I couldn’t do it. Every week felt harder than the last. Day after day I created a bigger resistance and feeling of overwhelm toward blogging. Ironically, I did this despite missing the practice.
I missed feeling the flow of inspiration I get when I write consistently and the sense of pride I have in a well-written blog. I missed reading your response emails to my articles and connecting with you on a weekly basis.
Have you ever thought about calling a family member or friend that you haven’t spoken to in a long time? Do you wonder if it’ll be awkward when you call again? Will they be happy to hear from you or angry that you haven’t called? Do you even know what to say?
That’s kind of how I felt. I didn’t know how to get back into the flow. It was as if I was starting this difficult task that had once been such a normal part of my routine.
Before I knew it, January was over. The first month of the year had passed, and I was yet to write one post. I realized I had a decision to make:
Was I going to quit blogging because it felt too hard to get back into it? Was I going to throw our relationship away? Or was I going to bite the bullet and push myself to start again?
I thought of our friend Jordan and our hallway conversation years ago. The answer became crystal clear.
Starting Over
Although I’m embarrassed and feel a little awkward admitting to you how hard writing this blog has been for me, I also believe there’s a lot of purpose in this happening.
Because undoubtedly you’ve experienced something similar. Whether it’s getting back into the gym or starting to eat healthy again; reaching out to a long-lost friend, asking for forgiveness or offering forgiveness; or even shooting social media videos or getting back into a discipline for your business. Whatever it is or how long it’s been—I’m here to tell you it’s time you get your butt back in it.
January is a month of goals, resolutions and fresh starts. But just because you didn’t start working towards your goals in January doesn’t mean you have to wait until next year! You don’t need January or a Monday to start a new habit or pursue a goal. All you need is to make the decision and take the first step.
So here I am again, back in your inbox, shyly saying “Hello, I know it’s been a while, but I’m so happy to be here… and I’ll see you again next week.”
My hope is that you, too, will muster up the courage to do the thing you’ve been struggling to do.
So long as you’re alive, you get to start over again.
A Moment of Clarity
No matter how uncomfortable, embarrassed, or scared you are, start doing the things you know you should do to live your best life. The rewards will far exceed the pain of getting started.
