How ‘gentle’ is the key to quick, powerful shifts in your daily routine
The word “gentle” popped up during office hours with BJ Fogg this week, prompting me to recall other times it has appeared in my life.
Such as when:
-my cousin read "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas at my uncle’s funeral.
-I read A Gentle Path through the 12 Steps by Patrick J. Carnes.
-my friend Dr. Richard Goldberg, psychiatry professor (aka Dr. Rich Golf), advised me that whatever I chose to do with my mornings to make sure my start to the day was gentle.
The crux of the matter is: creating habits requires self-compassion and self-love. We are enough. We have everything we need, right now—right this minute—to create habits and let life unfold in ways we never thought possible.
The key is to be gentle.
Yesterday, a friend shared the following aspiration with me: to walk earlier each morning.
While describing his existing morning routine, he said his favorite part was sitting on his porch sipping coffee, connecting with nature, and meditating.
“I should probably ditch that routine, but it just feels too good,” he said, as if he were guilty of sin.
I told him that was the part to keep.