Today is Saturday.

I woke up early this morning before the kids to make myself a cup of tea and spend some quiet time outside. It was an amazing morning.

I got to journal, think, breathe, and watch two quite frisky squirrels. For the first time in a few weeks I had some moments of clarity. It was one of those mornings that I wished I had gotten up 30 minutes earlier so that I had more time in this space. Of course, I set my alarm clock to get up but, alas, my comfy bed won.

Even so, it was an amazing way to start my weekend.

I had given my system a fighting chance of keeping its cool while having a day full of deep connection and fun with my kids.

The universe had other plans:

By 10:00, Declan, my 3 1/2-year-old, had tripped over his bike and busted his lip wide open on our tile floor.

By 11:20, he had poked himself in the eye with a fork.

By 11:30, I had hit him in the head (accidentally) with a plate while pulling it out of the refrigerator, consequently dropping it on the floor sending shards of ceramic in all directions.

By noon, he had tripped over the same bike (I should have moved it the first time) and hit his elbow on the corner of the coffee table.

The whole time, Lucy, my 2-year-old, just looked on in confusion.

And now…

 it’s 1:18 pm. I just put both kids down for naps and I’m praying that the nap gods look down on us in pity.

Those nap gods are tricky creatures, though. Personally, I believe they invented “the wrong side of the bed” (those bastards) and with toddlers you have a 50/50 shot at which side they will wake up on.

I have high hopes for this afternoon.

Then again, I did this morning, too, and see where that got me!

But I digress…

Isn’t that just the way it is, though? Some days, even with the best of intentions, and even when we do all we can to set ourselves up for success, it just goes sideways. I have spent the last two weeks in a place where I needed to allow myself to just rest. Mentally, emotionally, and physically I was run down.

Of course, I was “should-ing” all over myself: I should be writing. I should be networking. I should be working on the course that I’m creating.

With that said, however, I managed to appreciate the period of rest and took advantage of the time to do some deep reflection.

And today, with the unexpected clarity I found this morning, it was time for me to take some steps forward and work on those things that I knew I needed to get done.

Damn, it was hard!

For me, whenever I allow myself to fall into those slow phases, coming out of them is difficult. Mainly because it is so much easier to lie on the couch when the kids are napping or after they go do bed and watch Netflix than it is to work on my business.

This could also be said of almost anyone trying to make changes in their lives:

Easy – Eat quick, processed foods.

Difficult – Meal prep and plan so that you have healthy things to grab through the week.

Easy – Sleep through the alarm.

Difficult – Wake up early and move your body.

Easy – Allow external influences to run your day.

Difficult – Approach every piece of your day with intention.

And yet, if I were to ask you what your life would look like if you did the difficult things above, wouldn’t you agree it would be pretty amazing? You would feel better, sleep better, have more focus at work, and can dictate what is, and is not, important in your life. You would be in charge of each step you take rather than simply reacting to what comes next.

I don’t know about you, but that is the life I want.

And do you notice a commonality among the difficult examples above? All of them are intentionally decided upon and offer enormous growth.

The question remains, however. How do you do what’s difficult when it’s so much easier not too?

Next week we will explore 3 tools I use to push through the hard times and keep on track.

Until then, I want you to spend some time thinking about and writing down all the reasons you give yourself for quitting. Keep in mind these could be both internal and external influences. Try not to edit these, either. The real work can’t start until we are honest about what holds us back.

All my love and support,

❤️️ Elle