What You Prioritize Today Shapes Who You Become Tomorrow

Your Small Habits Matter, Choose Them Wisely

Let’s talk about your habits.

I’m sure if you take a moment to write a list (go ahead, I’ll wait), you can come up with five habits you’re proud of—and five you’d rather leave in the past.

Some of your habits are built, brick-by-brick, over many painstaking hours. You cultivate them, prioritize them, and stick with them no matter what happens.

Others habits are survival responses in disguise. Formed because something felt missing. Whether that something was love, acceptance, safety, or something else entirely, the absence led you to make patterns in your day you’d rather let go.

No matter what you do, your habits shape who you are right now.

Your past habits made you who you are today.

Your current habits shape the person you are becoming.

So, if you want to change your life, you need to start choosing your habits with intention. That means asking: What does the future version of me do every day? And how can I bring some of those habits into my life right now?

You are an amalgamation of all the people you’ve been before, the person you are right now, and the person you will become.

You are human and, therefore, you contain multitudes.

We are human and therefore we contain multitudes.

Sometimes, we don’t fully realize how much we've changed until we return to a place that once felt like home.

Last weekend, I visited my old home in Vermont. I ate at my favorite restaurants, spent time with old friends, visited the places I used to love. And through it all, I felt a strange mix of nostalgia and disconnection.

This place where I once felt so at home had become slightly unfamiliar. Like I was looking at a picture of my life instead of living it. One step out of sync with the people and places that used to feel like mine.

And I think that’s just the way it is. We can never really “go back” to the way we were before. It’s like trying to wear old clothes that don’t quite fit—you will always be aware that they are too tight or too loose.

That’s not to say I’ll never live comfortably in Vermont again. But I’ll never be the same version of myself who lived there nine months ago.

If I go back, I’ll do so as a new version of me. And the belonging I once felt will shift to meet the person I am now.

I Left Vermont Because…

A year before I left Vermont, I started dreaming about what life would be like somewhere else. I felt like I was stuck in a rut and that Vermont was somehow responsible (spoiler alert: it wasn’t Vermont’s fault).

My mind told me it was the lack of opportunity, the impossible housing market, the surprising scarcity of single men my age. But in truth, it wasn’t the place—it was my patterns. It was me.

I had grown too comfortable in an old version of myself.

What I really needed was to shift how I was living each day.

I needed to stop waiting for opportunity to knock and start creating a life with what I already had.

I needed to stop complaining about rent and become the kind of person who isn’t fazed by high prices.

I needed to stop swiping for someone to love and instead become someone who naturally attracts the love I’m looking for.

Of course, breaking out of old patterns is easier said than done.

When we get comfortable—in a place, in a routine, in a version of ourselves—it can feel risky to change. We tell ourselves we’re safe here, so why disturb anything?

But comfort and safety have a cost: they keep us stuck.

Stuck in an identity that no longer fits.

Stuck in habits that reinforce the idea that this is all there is.

And if you're feeling called to something more—a new place, a bigger life, a deeper version of yourself—then you have to break the habits of comfort and safety that are keeping you where you are. You have to begin shifting your current patterns to reflect the person you’re becoming.

This doesn’t mean jumping on Craigslist and signing a lease in a random city.

Changing your life starts smaller—and it’s often harder than moving across the country.

It means making tiny shifts in how you live each day. Like planting a seed and watering it every morning, trusting that with consistency and intention, your life will change.

So, how do you know which changes to make?

You come back to your body.

Begin with the Body

So often, we try to build better habits from a place of pressure, shame, or overthinking. We try to fit ourselves into what other people say is right for us.

But your body holds more wisdom than your mind alone ever could. And when you are in your body, connected to its wisdom, it’s easier to choose the right habits for you.

So take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground. Roll your shoulders. Stretch your fingers. Let your exhale be just a little bit longer than your inhale.

And ask yourself:

• What does my body need today?

• What is alive inside of me right now?

• Where do I feel tension or resistance, and how can I meet it with gentleness?

Choosing the right habits doesn’t start in the mind. It starts with the ways we support ourselves physically and energetically every single day.

Drinking enough water. Getting enough sleep. Movement that feels good. Slowness when we need it. These are foundational habits—the ones that remind your body: I’ve got you.

They create safety and stability from the inside out. So instead of depending on your environment or circumstances to feel grounded, you begin to generate that sense of security from within.

And from there, the rest becomes so much easier.

Daily Grounding Practices for Your Body and Your Energy

Once you’re back in your body, you can start to notice the practices that ground and support you—the practices that fill your cup instead of draining it.

You’ll start to see that you don’t need a 10-step routine to change your life. You just need a few anchor points in your day that help you feel steady, clear, and connected to yourself.

For me, that includes a solid morning routine: meditation, journaling, and movement. A time every day where I can reflect and be present.

My morning routine took me from victimization to empowerment in a little less than a year. From debt-ridden despair in a Vermont home I couldn’t afford, to gentle gratitude in a peaceful house on a pond, supported by family.

It didn’t happen overnight.

It happened every day.

One promise to myself, one simple step, one habit at a time.

Here are a few grounding practices to support your body and your energy. As always, take what resonates, leave the rest.

1. A Morning Ritual

For me, mornings are sacred. They’re my time—just me and myself. I meditate, journal, and move almost every single day. At this point, it feels strange not to do it.

Your morning ritual might look different. It might be shorter. It might include running, painting, gardening… Whatever it is, I believe it’s important that we each begin our day with something that helps us move through it with more intention.

So if nothing else, start with a simple check-in. Before you reach for your phone, place your right hand on your heart, your left on your belly, and ask:

How am I feeling today? What do I need most?

Then, do that thing—as soon as you can.

2. Daily Movement

Movement shifts energy. It gets you out of your head and into your body. And it doesn’t take much.

A few cat-cows on your mat. Dancing in the kitchen. A short walk with your hubby after dinner.

When you move your body, you release what’s stuck and reconnect with your inner flow.

Start with what feels good. Let it be easy. Let it be enough.

3. Stream-of Consciousness Journaling

Journaling has been a pivotal practice for me. It helps me see the patterns in my thoughts and life. And once I see them, I can slowly—lovingly—begin to shift them.

Stream-of-consciousness journaling isn’t about creating perfectly flowing prose—it’s about getting the words out of your head and onto the page.

No filters. No edits. No pressure to sound smart, funny, or poetic.

Just you, your pen, and the truth of what’s moving through you.

Try writing for at least 15 minutes. I find the last page always holds the gold—right after I push through the resistance to keep going.

4. Nourishment + Hydration

You only get one body and it needs your help to thrive. Those basic wellness habits you’ve heard a thousand times? They’re repeated for a reason.

Drink water before your coffee. Eat foods that give you energy. Avoid the ones that make you feel heavy and sick.

It sounds basic—but it’s foundational. When you take care of your physical body, it takes care of you by giving you energy, inspiration, and courage to keep going.

5. Breathwork

Your breath is your anchor. When your mind starts racing or your energy scatters, returning to your breath is the fastest way to come back to yourself. Inhale for four. Exhale for six. Feel your feet on the ground. Let your shoulders drop.

You don’t need to fix anything—just soften.

Let your breath remind you: you’re already okay.

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These aren’t things you have to do. They’re practices you get to return to—again and again—to remember that you are already whole. Already on the path.

When your body and energy feel supported, choosing the next right habit feels a little easier. A little more natural. A little more like coming home.

Your body knows what it needs, you just have to listen.

A Quiet Kind of Change

When I was last visiting Vermont, I stopped by my favorite coffee shop.

The person behind the counter was the same. The menu hadn’t changed. The smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls still made my mouth water.

And yet… I was different.

I noticed, as I got in line, that I moved with more ease and softness. I wasn’t in a rush to get home. I wasn’t trying to be someone—anyone—else. I was just being myself.

Fully here. Fully now.

And in that small everyday moment, it struck me:

This is what it feels like to change.

We don’t change all at once. And not every change is the result of a big, life-altering decision.

Real, lasting change comes from the little things that we choose— every single day.

A few years ago, I couldn’t have imagined becoming who I am now. And a few years from now, I’ll probably look back at this version of me with the same feeling of disbelief and awe.

That’s the gift of daily habits. Of returning to the body. Of listening inward.

They shape us slowly. Steadily. Lovingly.

So if you’re wondering where to begin, begin with what grounds you. With what brings you back into presence. Choose one habit—one practice—that supports the future you, and let it grow from there.

Because the truth is:

We never really go back.

We only change.

And that change is happening now.

With love and light,

This Week’s Journaling Prompt

What does the future version of me do every day? How can I start doing that now in a small way?

Pick one small grounding practice and commit to it for the next 7 days. At the end of the week, reflect: How does my body/energy feel now? What’s shifted, even subtly?

And don’t forget to share with someone who needs to be reminded that change doesn’t come all at once, it starts small and grows.

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