To-Do lists. We all have them. If they’re anything like mine, they contain a rotating set of items, many tactical and mundane in nature (call doctor, pay dog walker, find husband) and I tend to check off what I’ve completed with others carrying over to the next day/week/month. (See also: last referenced to-do list item above.) And I’ve realized that the ones that carry over are often the ones I want to do the least.

This week, I decided to change that. Instead of tackling the easy or fun ones, I chose the difficult, painful or challenging items and went to go and do/fix those first. Nope, wasn’t one bit of fun. But the sense of accomplishment? Huge.

In a similar vein, I tried this with my conversations. I naturally tend to avoid things or situations that are hard or painful…I think that’s human nature. But it’s what gets us stuck and KEEPS US STUCK. So instead, I acknowledged that this was going to feel scary and hard and real and I would want to run the hell away from what I was needing to say.

And I did it anyway.

Yep: it was hard. I had butterflies. I had to fight every single urge I had to run away or avoid it and just say it, do it, and lead with the honesty. Because I’m at the point in my life where that’s really all that matters. Having the difficult conversations. Speaking my mind. Making myself vulnerable.

And I survived. I’m still here (albeit a bit more navel-gazing than usual) and while it wasn’t easy, honesty is basically all I’ve got right now. And I’m going with it.