“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Eleanor Roosevelt


It’s February! How are your resolutions coming along? For me, new habits are more likely to stick—the healthy kind—if started on a random day of the week in the middle of the year.
One SCARY thing a day?

I don’t think Eleanor was encouraging people to watch horror movies, teeter on edges of tall buildings, or to pet poisonous spiders.
Maybe Eleanor meant . . . one thing that challenges us.
As a writer, I am told to network and market myself. Talk about scary! With fear and trembling, I joined two groups for women writers. Over a Zoom coffee chat, I met fellow authors and learned new marketing strategies. Success!
Scary things could include calling an old friend, bringing chicken soup to a sick neighbor, or apologizing to your mate.

I’ve written about things that scare me—blowing up balloons and petting dogs.
I’m also terrified of pressure cookers. In 1975, after ours blew its top, my mother and I spent the evening cleaning spaghetti sauce from the kitchen ceiling. There are lawyers that handle pressure cooker lawsuits! Who knew?

After thirty years, my husband cut off his long ponytail. This courageous act equaled days and days of scary things!
The definition of scary means: frightening; causing fear.


Instead of scare tactics to begin a new day, I attempt one brave thing a day. The word brave feels full of oomph and possibilities.
I love over-easy eggs, but never make them for fear of breaking the yolk.
It’s not pretty, but I did it! 👏

What brave thing will you do today?
I have not been much of a risk-taker, but now at 70 I find that getting up and declaring the day to be good is scary. I had my first medical scare several months ago, and changes to diet, exercise etc. are not optional anymore but mandatory! My friend is on her last days on this earth, and it feels scary to envision life without her living across the street from me. Other friends and family have so many obstacles to daily living that the word scary comes to mind again. So, I would say that the one brave thing that I will do each day is declare, “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps. 118:24)
Amen, sister!