I am a wimp. Not in the “poor me, I’m so weak” kind of way lolll but in the “I will absolutely take the baby-ist of baby steps instead of doing anything extreme” kind of way. Especially when it comes to working out.

There’s a weird pressure to go all in or not at all. To “push yourself” and “no excuses” your way into being someone else entirely overnight. But honestly? That has never worked for me. What has worked is giving myself permission to be soft. To move gently. To do what I can, even if it’s small. And to let the momentum build from there.

I am not a rip-the-band-aid-off type. I don’t wake up one day and suddenly start hitting the gym for an hour, five days a week. I don’t sprint into new habits. I tiptoe. My workouts started as 5-minute stretches. Then maybe 10-15 minutes of light movement. And now, sometimes, I make it to a full 45-minute session without plotting my escape mid-way through.

It’s slow. Like glacial. But it’s working. I can feel my core getting stronger. More energy in my day. My short work outs started to feel easy and that’s when I knew that I could handle more.

For the first time in forever, I’ve been consistent. I’m actually sticking to something, not because I forced myself into a dramatic overhaul, but because I built it in small, sustainable ways. Now just a task I need to check off on my list. I’m not burning out. I’m not waking up dreading it. I’m making it part of my rhythm and not a punishment.