The secret to success is getting started. – Mark Twain

I hope your celebrations were joyful, safe, and heart-filling, whether the 4th of July plans kept you local or venturing to visit family or friends you haven’t seen in a year.

Each summer, I experience July 4th as a time-marker saying, “Summer’s moving on; you’d better get started living it!” Oh, and we have, taking advantage of the weather and the new menu of activities available to us. But I still feel a pause, a check-in, a question of: are you making the most of it?

I appreciate that pause. I’ll take it in and use it to ensure that I’m getting out of these summer months what I pictured back in May. That I’ve still got my original destination in mind as I chase sunsets and the smell of fresh-cut grass. That, to my greatest ability, I am leading my life by design and not by default.

There are still a few things on my list that I’d like our family to accomplish. Mostly they’re the habits that will serve us well during the school year, like reading schedules, dishes (does anyone still call them chores?), and screenless family time together. I believe if we practice now, instead of waiting until the school year, it’ll give us the chance to get better at these things.

Sure, summer’s sports schedules may make dishwasher-unloading a messy ask (why do they always have to eat as soon as I ask about the dishwasher), but if I don’t get started, I will never see success.

And so I’ll invite you to pause with me this week to reflect on if there’s anything you may be waiting for a rainy day to do? Write it down. Put it on the calendar. Schedule it. The secret to success is getting started!

Tips for getting started:

  1. Start small
  2. Keep an open mind
  3. Be ready to practice
  4. Use the momentum of success
  5. Celebrate wins!

Need a place to get started? Download our Wheel of Life tool. The 30 minutes you spend will change your lives. After you do the activity, please comment on your experience!

Visit our Parent Resources page for more helpful insights. 

Check out our new FREE Grit and Grace series!

Cara Thorpe
Founder & Visionary
Yellow Parachute Learning Partners
www.yellowparachute.com
612-361-7266