I’ve had this thought recently how every big change, any big vision we have for the person we want to be is really all about building habits.

So for example, if I want to be a strong, fit person, then I need to work out in some form regularly.

I would argue that you can pull out any big vision you have and identify something that the person living this vision does everyday, whether it be writing, cooking, or working on her creative business.

Our big goals need to find their way into our daily routines if we want to not only make progress, but grow into the person who can really pull it off.

For example, whenever I thought about the woman I wanted to be, I saw her as a physically strong woman, someone who doesn’t complain about working out and instead just does it. To her, working out is not a big scary thing or a chore she’d rather avoid, but a way to take care of and celebrate her body.

I fiddled around with exercise more or less over the years. But one day it hit me:

There is never going to come a time when something just shifts inside me and this suddenly becomes easy.

The beginning will always be equally hard and I will always wonder if I’m just fooling myself when I commit to exercising.

So that means I could either start working out now and begin the process of growing into that fit woman, or I could postpone the whole thing knowing that I’ll have to start someday and it will likely not become easier by waiting on it.

It might sound silly, but it really was sort of a Halleluja aha-moment when I realized that I was as prepared as I’d ever be and could choose to just start today. Do you ever have that in your life?

For some reason, I really did feel that it was now or never with me and exercise. I wanted to be that fit woman and I knew the only way I would become her was by working out now. So I turned my vision of “Iris the fit woman” into a simple daily habit: 10 minutes of exercise every day. I chose some workout videos that I liked and mostly did those everyday.

I’m happy to report that it’s been 80 days since I started my daily exercise habit, and I only missed about 5 days or so.

That’s why I love habits so much – now it’s becoming my new normal to move my body and work out. I didn’t have to know the perfect workout plan or make sure I always had a protein smoothie ready. I just have to spend ten minutes working out every day.

What’s a habit that would move you ahead? Just imagine, if you did this thing every day for the next 80 days, what would shift for you?

If you think a creative habit of regularly working on your craft would be impactful for you, then I’d love for you to check out my Creative Habits coaching package. It’s a three months program to help you wrangle self-doubt and finally do the thing that is the very foundation of every creative business: Working on your craft and producing work regularly.

This is day three of of the week long writing challenge.