There's something deeply personal and special about developing skills and the habits with which you develop them, or what I call ceremonies. These ceremonies are ideally promises you make to yourself, and keep no matter what else life throws at you. If you make them your number one priority, they become some of the most cherished parts of yourself. They remind you that you love yourself, that you are your number one priority.

How, you ask? Even the smallest habits matter. You can go to bed 30 minutes earlier than your regular time. This way tell your body that you are taking care of it, and it hears this. You learn to get better sleep. Or maybe you want to get better at a skill? You commit to a regular ceremony even if it's a drag at times. Writing daily posts here is one way I do that. Or maybe you want to try learning something from scratch. You do the same - some may not stick, but some will and you may even love those ceremonies. For me that's been learning to play music.

Or if you're lucky you find your inner calling, that true artistry each of us yearns to find. Then that ceremony becomes your duty to yourself and to the world. Rick Rubin has a great chapter on this in his book The Creative Act. To him, when an artist gets their muse, it is their responsibility to drop everything else and react to it. That the artist owes it to humanity, no matter how rude or disruptive it might be. I love that framing.

These ceremonies are most of the time not fun. They are like going to church, or singing the national anthem on a school Monday, or feeding your pet. But you choose to do them. You choose when you know you don't have to. And you do because you are nurturing yourself, taking care of your inner child. You prioritize that, you respect that, and the rest of the world learns to respect it with you.

The best part is, sometimes you get amazing skills out of them. Skills that accompany you for the rest of your life. Skills that may not wow anyone else, that may not create amazing art or products, but nonetheless are parts of you that you love deeply. That ends up being enough.

Have ceremonies. Nurture your skills. Rest will follow.