The most important thing YOU should do before starting YOUR garden (It isn’t what YOU think)

It’s January 1st.  Today is the day that most of us spend lying to ourselves about all the awesome new habits that we are going to instantly implement to have a great year

By March over 90% of us will have given up on our resolutions.

Does that mean that we are all lazy, bad people? No.

It means that change is hard.  

It means that new habits are hard to implement. 

It means that there is a huge gap between wanting to change and finding the discipline it takes to make it happen.

So, how do you get over that hurdle and launch yourself into a great gardening (or whatever else you want to do) year?

The most important thing to do FIRST is to forgive yourself for not doing it last year, last month, yesterday.

Let go of all the negative feelings you have about why you aren’t growing your own tomatoes, or about those 3 aloe plants that you killed last year, or those pothos cuttings that your friend at work gave you that are still sitting in a bag in the corner.

LET THAT ISH GO!

Forgiving yourself for past mistakes is the single most important thing that you can do to move forward and make changes in your life.

Ok, forgive myself. 

Cool. 

Sounds simple enough.

HOW do I forgive myself?

Think of a specific mistake. Then say out loud that you forgive yourself for that specific mistake.  

I’ll go first.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

Now I’m cured.  Just kidding.

I am going to say this out loud several times and then I am going to make a plan to rectify the situation.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

Random side note, Garden Tower Project is giving away Garden Towers in January.  Click the link to find out more about the giveaway.

After I forgive myself I make a plan to fix it

When it comes to garden projects the simplest version of a plan involves answering a few questions.

Why didn’t I fill the Garden Tower? What do I need to buy, build, or move to get the Garden Tower filled?

Why didn’t I fill the Garden Tower? Every time I was ready to work on this project, the conditions weren’t perfect.  This didn’t get done because I put limits on myself on how it should be done.

Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200.  Go back to forgiveness for a minute.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

I forgive myself for not filling my Garden Tower with soil and planting it out.

What do I need to buy? I don’t need to buy anything I have soil in my basement. The hard part is done.

What do I need to build? A better rolling platform than the one it is sitting on now. I have all the supplies that I need.  

When can I get this done? I need at least an hour on a non-rainy day to cut the wood.  The rest can be done inside.

I check the weather forecast and set a date. Next Wednesday.

What do I need to move?  I need to move the Garden Tower off of the rolling platform that it is currently on, onto the one that I will build. Then roll it into my greenhouse after I move soil up to the deck and fill it.

It’s a rough plan but it is a plan.

Conclusion

Change is hard. Don’t make it harder on yourself by holding onto self-blame for not doing the things that you want to be doing already.  Forgive yourself first.  Then make a plan to correct the mistake so you can move on.

This is the first post in my new Weekly Blog Tip Series.  Come back next week to find out what the next tip is and to find out if I filled my Garden Tower.

What do you need to forgive yourself for?  Tell me in the comments or tag Lilies and Tomatoes on Instagram.