Life occurs in modalities. At times we’re in a mode of performance and effort. Other times we’re in a mode of rest and renewal. Both modes are equally important. The space in-between, however, can be uncomfortable.

Last year I found myself stepping back from having been in performance mode for an extended period of time. Between getting myself into business school, completing my MBA and launching a venture-backed startup, I was deeply in need of ramping down for a while. I was burnt out and the only way to move past it was to rest. The problem with this, however, was that I’m not sure I really knew how to rest. When I finally stopped resisting where I was, things slowly began to change.

I now find myself in a phase where in many ways I’m beginning again. One area that I’m slowly ramping up in is exercise. This is uncomfortable. I don’t particularly enjoy feeling like a beginner. I want to be there now – wherever there might be. What I’m slowly coming to understand, however, is that ‘there’ is an illusion. It’s a set of distorted ideals that are exhausting and frankly, kind of boring to think about.

In accepting where I am, I’m learning how to more easily flow between modalities. This has taught me that one of the most valuable skills we can develop is confidence in our ability to begin again. It means that downshifting is not such a bad thing. It allows us to accept where we are and step into times of renewal without resistance. It makes the start a lot less painful and in some ways, even enjoyable.

Here are a few ways I’ve learned how to begin again. While these tools are focused on exercise, I think they can also be applied to other areas of our lives.

• Start small – with running my mental hurdle to get out the door was ~ 2-3 miles, so I started with that even though I probably could have done more.
• Make it visible – visual reminders help keep your priorities top of mind and can hold you accountable.
• Do it daily – there’s a certain sense of accomplishment and joy that comes with progress, even if you’re starting with baby steps.
• Make it social – it’s a lot more fun when you’re doing it with other people and can feed off of each other’s energy.

Thanks to Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and to the folks over at Lift for all of the inspiration and support along the way.