If you’ve been reading the Light Letter you may have noticed that we like to experiment with improvement in our daily routines. The problem is, things add up.

It’s not an uncommon problem. In order to be healthy and happy I need to wake up early, go for a run, do my finances, meditate, drink water with lemon, read, go for a walk, stretch, call my mom…. And now the daily to do list isn’t sounding fun, like it was meant to, but rather annoying.

Missing one element feels like failure and leads to the thought, why not miss em all (not sound logic, I know).

Last week I wrote about the shit I cherish and I am grateful to have that list in writing. But I worry about letting cherish turn to burden.

For this reason I’ve turned to atomic habits. James Clear highlights a statistic that doesn’t seem real: researchers at Duke University found that 40% of what we do each day is automatic. Almost half. Which means the habits we build, even tiny ones, shape nearly half our lives without us even thinking about it.

Clear's advice? When starting a new habit, it should take less than two minutes. 'Read before bed' becomes 'read one page.' 'Do thirty minutes of yoga' becomes 'take out my yoga mat.'

This lifted a weight off of me. I didn't have to be perfect at all ten things. I just had to show up for two minutes at a time.
The habit, if you enjoy it and it doesn’t give you loads of stress, will grow like a well watered garden.

So here's what I'm doing, and I'm inviting you to join me: Pick one thing from your cherish list. Spend 2 minutes a day on it. That's it. No more required. Just a little light on your good shit.

Some of the things Light Letter Heads said they cherished:
- drinking coffee while sitting outside with no distractions 
- waking up and flipping your pillow to the cold side and admiring the way the morning sun lights up a room 
- drinking coffee with a crossword puzzle
- Going to a bar, sitting in a booth, and reading a book
- Running (Psycho answer)
- Sitting on the sofa with a friend, a coffee, and a whole lot to gossip about
- Putting on a good playlist and making art. Any kind really.
- Sitting in a rocking chair with my husband, a coffee, and my dog.

Mostly, we learned that y’all like coffee…. like a lot.
Let me know what you pick. I'll be journaling on my patio rocking chair… it’s only 2 minutes..

Until next time,

Live your light.