Day 10: When the Momentum Hits Softly

I didn’t wake up with fireworks today. No rush of motivation, no “main character energy” soundtrack in my head. Just the kind of morning that feels flat and heavy… the kind that dares you to stay in pajamas and write the whole day off. My inner rebel whispered, ‘What if we just… didn’t?’ But the problem with listening to her is that she’s also the same voice who thinks Doritos count as dinner.

But I did try.
Not in a dramatic, all-in kind of way. Just… one thing at a time.

Salt water. Coffee. Journal. Pilates.
And then—I got dressed. Nothing revolutionary. No glitter explosion. Just stacking the plain bricks until a foundation showed up.

Not in leggings. Not in “just in case” pajamas.
I put on a cotton dress, layered a crisscrossed button-down on top, swept my hair into my signature bandana updo, and added a pair of statement glasses. It was basically a costume change into ‘the version of me who gets shit done’ — even if the only audience was my own reflection in the hallway mirror. It was early, and I wasn’t going anywhere. But I chose to elevate anyway.

And something shifted.

From that moment on, I moved differently.
I filmed. I edited. I wrote.
I finished my blog and posted my reel—all before lunch.

And then I did something small that felt surprisingly profound:
I painted one nail with a tortoise shell design. Tiny rebellion, right? Just one nail. But it felt like declaring, ‘I don’t need a whole salon day to start becoming her. I just need one square inch of polish.

Not for content. Not to go anywhere. Just because Future Jenli would.
Because she doesn’t wait until everything is perfect to show up with polish.
She starts where she is… and builds from there.

Jovie had a birthday party that afternoon (over an hour away). Translation: the rest of my day was about gas station snacks and mum-taxi service and I knew “mum duty” would take up the rest of my day. But I had already done the most important thing: I had chosen myself this morning.

I always thought momentum would feel big and loud and triumphant.
Turns out, it’s more like a quiet click in the right direction. It’s less like a drumroll and more like the soft snap of a seatbelt. Quiet. Secure. And suddenly you’re strapped in for the ride.

✨ Read the full breakdown of my ideal day here →

See you tomorrow.

(Unless I delete the internet and move into the woods.)