Since coming back from our family cruise, I made a quiet promise to myself: start small and stay consistent. No pressure. No dramatic “new me.” Just something I could actually show up for.
For me, that “something” became a simple morning walk — ten minutes, nothing more. Not a full workout, not a gym plan. Just a tiny window carved out for me.
What changed everything wasn’t the walk itself…it was the way I started thinking about it.
Those ten minutes became a date with myself — a moment I refused to cancel.
We show up for everyone else without thinking twice. Our kids, our partners, our homes. But when it comes to ourselves? We tend to push it off. Move it to tomorrow. Pretend it doesn’t matter.
So I stopped doing that.
If I can be endlessly reliable for everyone I love, I could be reliable for me, too. And “showing up” became as simple as honoring those ten minutes.
I’ll be honest — I haven’t walked every single day. But I’ve walked most days. And that’s what matters. It’s become a gentle rhythm, a grounding ritual instead of another thing to chase.
What started as my moment slowly became ours.
Now my husband joins. My son joins. Even our dog joins. What used to be a quiet solo ritual has grown into a family walk — a soft way to connect before the day officially begins.
But still, the heart of it hasn’t changed:
It all began with treating ten minutes like something worth protecting.
And that’s what I want to share with every mom who feels like she doesn’t have time, doesn’t have the energy, or doesn’t know where to start.
We’re taught to believe that time for ourselves has to be long, intense, or perfect to matter. But the truth is…
Ten minutes count.
Ten minutes is doable.
Ten minutes is a win.
When you label it as a “date with yourself,” something shifts. You stop canceling. You stop apologizing. You stop waiting for life to magically slow down.
Because consistency isn’t built in big heroic moments — it grows in tiny promises kept.
So if you’re reading this and struggling to start, let this be your gentle reminder:
Pick something small.
Pick something realistic.
Pick your ten minutes — and don’t skip out on yourself.
You deserve to be someone you can count on, too.
Your future self will thank you for every little moment you chose to show up.
