I’m tired of a life where I feel haunted by my failures… A life where I keep repeating the same old patterns…. I’m tired of the feelings of doubt and inadequacy…. Every time I fall over in my attempts to make a better life I feel a little bit more broken and despondent…. What I’m learning is the more I can acknowledge where I am and how I feel the more I can set myself free…. There is no weakness in acknowledging and accepting where I am…. It is my denial and self- deception that most holds me back…. As I face the truth about how I really feel inside I experience a wonderful sense of relief …. There’s a growing sense of acceptance in me…. Acceptance is strength not weakness…. And as I accept what I feel inside I’m able, arguably for the first time, to move forward…. Now I can truly fulfil all I’m capable of being…. But for that, the power of routine is needed…. It’s the lack of structure and discipline that most weakens my position…. For far too long I’ve mistaken structure and discipline for restrictive practices that somehow deny me freedom…. Nothing could be further from the truth…. Without them I have little chance of living a peaceful, fulfilled and contented life…. In fact, both structure and discipline set me free…. The more I establish positive patterns, life-nurturing habits and self-respecting practices, the more I find myself sitting comfortably in my own life…. I stop trying to be someone else and discover the joy of being me….
Routine is power…. The more I practise those routines that are genuinely life-enhancing, the more satisfaction and contentment I feel…. Establishing a routine is much easier than I thought…. All I need to do is start by identifying one or two things that I can do every day…. I need to start with small, realistic things in the sure knowledge that as I lay a foundation of consistency these one or two things will eventually become three or four things…. And slowly, given time, the engine of momentum will drive me towards doing even more things that are positive and uplifting…. I don’t need to try and do it all at once…. In fact, that would almost certainly lead to failure…. I need to practise applying the principle of ‘little and often’…. I need to recognise less is indeed more…. So starting from today I accept where I am and I look for those small things that I can do consistently in the sure knowledge that I will eventually be able to do more…. Routine is my friend…. It comes to support me to enable me to reach my chosen destination….