Opening my laptop on a dusky summer’s evening from the comfort of my sofa, I reflected on how an aim to get 1% better every day couldn’t have possibly worked in my early days of writing for Intentional Lucie. I was all or nothing.
I wrote about overcoming perfectionism in an earlier blog post, in which I wrote a passage on what to do in an energy-draining situation: “I took myself away to complete my evening routine of a hot shower, skincare and reading while playing subliminals in bed”. Oh, the beauty of 2024. I have fallen far, far away from such rituals now. Truth be told, I miss them and I’m mourning the old me.
Earlier today, my husband and I stumbled upon a shop dedicated to magazines, one of my greatest joys in living an intentional lifestyle that got lost along the way. Rows upon rows of every genre, I searched for my favourites – spirituality and lifestyle. I picked up multiple magazines and settled my hands across one I’d not seen before. My husband saw my delight and bought it for me, and I carefully held it in my lap on the car ride home, thinking about the opportune moment to begin reading it. After navigating an energy-draining situation of late, it was today that I thought to myself, this is how to get 1% better every day. The clouds lifted.
Losing yourself
When I think about self improvement for women, my mind doesn’t automatically go to the trenches – the rock bottom place where you know you’re inflicting damage upon yourself, yet you can’t stop. Instead, I envision a woman who is already excelling in her career, engaging in healthy habits and maintaining her weekly fake tanning routine on a Thursday evening. My perception doesn’t reach my reality.
I recently said, “I don’t know who I am anymore”. I only recognised it as truth the moment the words came from my mouth. I used to consider myself a high achiever with high standards, but not anymore. As I wrote in 2024, reading before bed while listening to positive subliminals was ingrained in my psyche as a necessity. Now? I’m lucky if I’m not using AI as an agony aunt in an attempt to clear the ruminating thoughts in my mind. Aside from going to work, I have no routine, let alone the carefully curated morning routine I used to live by. Once again, I miss it.
A catalyst for change
The dusk is turning to darkness as I hammer away at my keyboard, but I need to write that self improvement for women isn’t for the high achievers. At least, not always. It can just as well be about pulling yourself from the trench and thinking, “what can I do to get 1% better?” Today, it looked like bringing a magazine home and writing this blog post on a whim instead of interrogating AI about my feelings. I know for certain that I won’t be waking up tomorrow morning and embarking on the perfect morning routine that I used to follow. I’m not that woman anymore. But, just maybe I will read 10 pages of my magazine with a cup of decaf tea.
I don’t believe that learning how to get 1% better every day is about following a guide or a tick-box PDF download. Rather, it’s about acknowledging that you’re seeing the light again and starting afresh from a new location – not picking up where you left off in previous months or even years. It’s about choosing a small, manageable action that brings you back to who you truly are.
If you’re interested in practical steps for establishing habits, you might care to read my review of Atomic Habits.