This post could go in several directions now. We could talk about finding strength during adversity. We could talk about never giving up hope. Or we could talk about simplicity, and the power of a pause at each end of the day.

We call this ‘bookending’. It’s about finding little anchor points at the beginning and end of the day that can help to centre you. In this case, it is a few moments, focusing on something tiny and silent, wondering at the resilience of life and measuring slow progress. It could be any early morning walk and half an hour of reading in bed before lights off, or a cup of coffee or tea on the verandah before anyone in the house is up and some moments outside, staring at the stars at night.

One of the gifts we send new clients in our personal accountability coaching program is a book called, The Miracle Morning: The six habits that will transform your life before 8AM by Hal Elrod. This outlines a great way of starting the day that takes anything from six minutes up to an hour, depending on the approach you choose.

That’s an organised outline for a morning, but any rituals we create can bring us a comforting sense of certainty in a world that feels very off kilter at times. We can have our own, and we can also create rituals in our families, bookending each day, or celebrating each weekend. We’re both open about the fact that one way we relax is watching trashy TV, but we try to avoid making that our ‘ritual’. It’s about adding in some little thing that reminds us regularly that the world keeps turning, no matter what else we have on our plates, and that we can create peaceful moments no matter how hectic everything else becomes.

We’d love to hear from you about what works for you, so we can inspire each other.