{try this} tuesday | turning point

on 04-07-2015

I added a “try this tuesday” weekly post last month to share ideas you might want to take for a test drive. Last week’s morning two-step post prompted a slew of requests for more ways to invigorate often unnoticed moments with purpose. Thank you for letting me know what you’re craving more of — absolutely love hearing from you. (Quick timeout for a request of my own: Please don’t be shy about posting in the comments. Receiving your messages is wonderful, but it would be great for others to be inspired by your requests and feedback, too.)

I believe that a routine-grounded day is anything but routine, and I know that my creativity skyrockets when I’m anchored in a daily practice. The components of that practice may change, but the way my brain and entire being responds to it remains the same. Routine combats decision-making fatigue and gets my creative engine fired up.

aldo coffee

A mainstay for me? My coffee ritual. From filling the kettle to pushing down the French press, making coffee fuels so much more than my caffeine habit. My brain and body crave the tactile and sensory components, the very rhythm of making coffee. No matter what else is brewing in my life, I can count on this: When my coffee’s ready, so am I.

I added the two-step into my morning mix a couple of years ago. I’m not sure where the idea of making my first two footfalls “thank” and “you” came from, but I do know Dr. Christine Northrup’s Women’s Wisdom Perpetual Calendar App sparked today’s “turning point.” Dr. Northrup uses the term “prepaving” to describe setting your intent for the day before you head out into the world.

“You know what it’s like when you have a bad day. You have an argument, get cut off in traffic, miss an appointment — it’s a snowball effect. You can prevent that by prepaving. Set your intent for a joyous, fulfilling day first thing in the morning before you leave the house. Visualize it for a few seconds, and then step out in happy anticipation.”

I wanted to attach that prepaving to a reminder, a universal action that would remind me to visualize how I want my day to unfold. The hope that this could be a literal turning point inspired the tactile trigger . . . placing my hand on the doorknob.

Try this: Before you turn the knob and open your door, take a few seconds to set your intention, to prepave the landscape of your day. Breathe in gratitude, the wonders of possibility and a sense of being exactly where you should be. Breathe out any doubts and fears.

This is a turning point – your turning point. This is your day.