We’ve stalled as long as we can, haven’t we? The obvious next step is to begin actually practicing, following the plan you’ve worked out in your practice journal and the learning materials you’ve gathered.
If you’ve already got a book or other learning materials you can use, great! You can begin studying right away. If not, there are lots of books available; order at least one as soon as you can. If you can find an eBook version, of course those offer the advantage of being delivered instantly.
Keep in mind that starting a practice habit that sticks isn’t an easy process. You might end up missing days this week—try as hard as you can to show up, but if you miss a session, it’s not the end of the world. In Section Two we’ll begin looking at ways to make routines “stickier”, more effective, and easier to follow.
For now, though, your only job is to try and show up daily in the time and place you decided on—and work on your skills using whatever learning materials you can find, online or off. It almost doesn’t matter what you learn at this stage; we’re just trying to form the habit of showing up. And if that proves difficult, don’t be too hard on yourself—because starting a new daily routine is surprisingly difficult.
As anyone who’s tried to start flossing will tell you.
See you next time for Section Two!