My hubby and I spent each morning of the past week hiking from our cousin’s house in  Pacific Palisades, California through neatly manicured yards to the wild, untamed paths that snake through the Santa Monica Mountains. So rustic, these trails, they are not even named on Google Earth. Imagine.

The first morning we made the hike it was new. We weren’t sure how to get past barriers. Barriers like chain link fences, barbed wire…little things. As we conquered one challenge, we’d hit another. Too-steep cliffs for our un-hiking shoes. Forks in the path. Still, we pushed forward. We’re stubborn that way.

As we scaled the last vertical hill, I didn’t know if I could make it.

Husband: Plant your feet. Take it one step at a time.

Me: Silent. Concentrating.

As I grabbed on to each rock and pulled myself up, my confidence grew.

The next day we did the hike again. We traced our steps exactly. Somehow, the second time was easy. By the end of the week, we were searching for new challenges because Day 1 hike had become too easy.

You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? When we start something new, like a plan to get healthy, drop weight, run a marathon, it can be scary up front. Here’s all I have to say.

Plant your feet. Take it one step at a time.