Start where you are

I love this quote.

I love this concept. 

Because it embraces you for you. It's not asking you to change. It's not asking you to be someone different than who you are, right now, in this moment.

It offers permission, and it also offers some accountability. Accept who you are, and where you are, but take action.

Start. 

Begin.

Change the story you tell yourself about what all of the reasons you’ll start next week, next month, tomorrow. Too often we wait.

I'll start going to the gym on Monday.

After my birthday.

After that trip. 

You can start right now. But you have to change way you think about getting started.

The quote comes from a book of the same title by Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun whose work I've followed for a few years. The book is a guide to compassionate living. 

I'm a procrastinator. I'll do anything to avoid getting started. I don't know why. I just do. 

But I also like this quote because it's gentle. 

The quote "no excuses" absolutely works for some people. Many athletes are motivated by coaches shouting things like no excuses, and no pain, no gain. I still have t-shirts from high school with those quotes. They work. And they are true. You have to be willing to recognize when you're making excuses regarding change. You have to recognize when you're not making exercise and nutrition a priority.

But I don't believe that motivation, accountability, and self-compassion need to be mutually exclusive. 

Regardless of what it is that you're putting off, take a look at what you're waiting for. Sit with the why. Embrace where you are in your life.

Start with where you are.

Start with you who are.