Motivation – Soulful Sunday

The hardest part of any task is actually starting it. Especially on Day One. “Today is the day I start taking better care of myself.” Such a bold statement. A brave statement. Even thinking about it fills you with a sense of, “Heck yeah! I’m doing this!” There’s a sense of hope, you’re making a change. You, no one else, you are making a change to better yourself.

And then there you are, at the start. There’s a long road ahead of you. Not only are there hills and curves to navigate, but there’s a freaking mountain in your way as well. You can’t climb that. You’re not strong enough, you don’t have the right equipment, you don’t even know how to climb a mountain.

This is too hard. Too challenging. Too exhausting.

Babies don’t just learn to walk on Day One. Oh no, they watch everyone else walk around. Walk, run, climb, jump . . . The list is endless of all the things a baby can’t do. Yet, it doesn’t stop them from reaching out either for a piece of furniture or even a parent’s hand, to pull themselves up. Up and up and until they’re standing.

And then they fall down on their diaper covered bums and everyone has a good laugh at how cute it was.

This doesn’t stop them. They might try and stand up again right away. Or they might sit there and think about what just happened. Either way, it doesn’t matter. They took that first step, they stood up. Sure, they had to hang onto something, and they’ll probably have to hang onto something again tomorrow and the day after that . . . And the day after that. Before we know it, you’re in the kitchen fixing lunch and here comes a little one showing off their newly discovered skill.

Today is Day One. No one is expecting you to run a marathon or bench press double your body weight. In all likelihood no one cares, they might even expect you to fail. Little do they know, you’ve already won. You stood up; you’re standing at the Start Line on Day One. We can walk around that first hill. You can even run around that hill if you want. All that matters is that today you started. You can still the Start Line from where you stand. And most likely, you’ll still be able to see that Start Line tomorrow as well.

Soon though, and sooner than you think, you’ll start to see a glimmer of that Finish Line. That mountain won’t look so impossible. You’ll be stronger and smarter and have all the tools you need to climb that mountain.

But we have to learn to walk first. Walk. Run. Climb. Don’t worry if you fall down, because you know how to get back up, and make it count.

By Melly Johnston for The BariGirls