When you are at a loss about where to begin any practice, start where you are. Start where you are, and then again, start where you are. Each time you return to make an effort to change a habit, to shift a perspective, to be more open, start in that space of acceptance. Accept all of you including all of your stuff–that baggage that weighs a ton packed with emotions, fears, anxiety, stress, regret, pain, sadness–all of it.

Starting where you are means letting go of the desire for things to be perfect both externally and internally. There are the little things that get in the way like the quality of space, timing, sounds, and degrees of comfort. Then there are bigger things like people, priorities, work, and all sorts of obligations and wanting–lots of wanting–that everything big and small is in perfect order before you begin.

But one of the biggest obstacles to starting where you are is the inner critic and judge that watches your every move waiting to pronounce the whole effort a failure. In the worlds of meditation, yoga, and writing I’ve encountered techniques that guide you to “get out of your own way.” Even after practicing how to get out of my own way, I still need practice at getting out of my own way.

Getting out of your own way involves letting go of expectations, the word “should,” the word “must,” and certainty. It means launching into the light of the unknown.