“Slow and Steady wins the race”, said the Turtle to the Hare.

The turtle won the race because she kept working at the race. She didn’t quit, even when it looked like she was far behind, even when it seemed there was no way for her to win. Committed and focused effort always pays off.

I like the word “path” instead of “race”. While there is no rush, there is no time to waste in cultivating health.

Commitment always begins with a decision.

“I will put myself on the path and keep moving forward in a way that I walk myself into the health that is my birthright.”

That’s an example of a darn good decision. Why?

It’s a redirect from the current circumstances. It says, I’m here and I’m choosing to go there.

It’s the first step. The next steps must be answering the questions:

• How? What’s the plan?
• When? When shall I begin?
• Why? What’s the reason(s) this is important to me?
• Where? In my own mind, with outside learning, or both?
• And with Whom? It’s hard to do this alone, who can I journey with?

Gotta ask these questions to keep from falling back into the old routines and grooves.

A little bit of focus and upgraded choice each day adds up over time. It’s amazing to see this progress when looking back.

You don’t have to paint the WHOLE house by bedtime. But you can pick the color.

Then tomorrow you can tape the baseboards.

And the next day paint just one wall.

There is no rush, but there is no time to waste.

Health is one of the top three necessities for a good life. In my book, it’s #1.

I’ve learned that I can be more loving, cultivate meaningful relationships, do good work, and be creative when I have my health.

So, I start with health in order to have all else.

A trap that’s easy to fall into is thinking we can flip a switch, and all will be well.

You’ve probably noticed, it doesn’t work like that. Yet we can take any aspect of our health (nutrition, movement, emotions etc.) and walk them, little by little each day, over the finish line.

The Hare’s race style tends toward burn out. Whereas, the Turtle’s race style gets there every time.

A client said to me the other day, “I’m tired of starting strong and stopping too soon, which makes it seem like I’m getting somewhere (because I’m spending a LOT of energy) but ultimately I get nowhere better. It’s a trick I keep falling for”.

She now has a path and a plan. A path that’s walkable for her and a plan that inspires her to do a little bit each day. Doable.

Now she can look back and celebrate how far she’s come because she’s working at the path, staying on the path. No matter if she has slower days, faster days, or days she can’t see the finish line, they all add up to progress and healing to wholeness.

Did I mention the starting gate is Wholeness?

That’s worth a shift in perspective from Wounded to Wholeness. You can read more here.