Happy Wednesday! 

So, in the spirit of doing fun, new things for exercise, I decided to get myself some rollerblades. 

Yup-cue 80’s music and air that smells like sweat and microwaved nacho cheese and the Hokey Pokey (or was that just my childhood?) 

In any case, despite feeling like a complete dork, I also donned a bunch of protective gear to take my 5 minute spin around the block. 

I mean, who knows what could happen? 

It’s only been a decade or more since I did this.

Long story short, the first five minutes were amazing-I found my balance, I was listening to a podcast and feeling on top of the world…I let go of those fearful thoughts and the judge thoughts (what is she WEARING?) 

And just had fun. 

And then…I fell on my ass. Hard. 

Right smack in the middle of someone’s newly planted flower bed on the front lawn…and she was outside to watch the whole thing go down, as was a little kid who smirked by on his bike. 

Wonderful. 

I didn’t really even get how in the world I was supposed to get up with all this plastic gear and stiff, tight skates that I had made so tight they cut off any circulation around my ankles. 

I met the lady’s eyes and she said, “Honestly, I’m impressed you are even out here on those things! I could not do that!” And we had a good laugh and I ended up skating for like 30 minutes ore! 

The point: 

And as I skated home, I realized that the experience is a lot like dating, or doing anything new or different for that matter. 

Sure we’d rather look like we have our shiz together-we’d like to just whiz by and do fancy turns and stop without giving it another thought. 

But the reality is, anything new is going to require patience. 

Self-compassion. 

Persistance.

And laughing at oneself. 

It’s like beating up a kindergartener for not knowing Calculus. 

That would be ridiculous, right? 

So…in short, start where you are. 

It’s perfect. 

Imperfectly perfect. 

Say nice things to yourself for even getting out there and doing the thing.

You’ll have a lot more fun, be a lot less stressed and a whole lot more attractive to be around. 

Q: What is something new you’re doing this year? Let me know in the comments below!