Habits

Habit: A routine or practice performed regularly. An automatic response to a specific situation.

I decided before I get into more specifics on my own habit journey, I would talk about my viewpoint of habits in general and how the creation of them affects me.

Upon reflecting on the words good and bad as to how they apply to the word habits, I came to the conclusion that good or bad habits didn’t reflect the broader scope of creating them. For example, most consider smoking a bad habit. In actuality I know people who love to smoke. To them they enjoy it and have no intention to stop. In their view, smoking is not a bad habit. On the other hand, to some meditation/mindful reflection is a waste of time and they have no desire to do it. To them it is not a good habit necessarily.

In preparing for this post, I gave consideration to what I feel better words could be used. I thought about it on a more a personal level instead what the world in general labels a certain habit. I came up with two words. Desirable and undesirable. It makes it more personal in my estimation. The habit of eating from the vending machine is undesirable for me but starting to make exercise a habit is something desirable.  Perhaps a person loves fast food and that is something they don’t want to give up. But they are addicted to sports betting online and want to give it up. That is their undesirable habit. At the same time, they want to more financially responsible and increase their financial worth. That is a desirable habit to them. Do you get my drift?

Last post I spoke about identity. When we have that person, we want to be in mind we try to live like that person creating habits or systems/routines they would have. Even if it is small to start. We cast overthinking and overplanning aside and start.

Once again as I mentioned in my last post if you are going to start food or movement-based habits, I encourage you as the first step to consult your health care professional. If you are trying to put away things in your life such as chronic depression, some sort of undesirable addiction or some other mental health concern, consult your health care professional and/or your mental health care professional to get started.

Getting started, there are some powerful words. Either to have a desirable habit or leave an undesirable habit behind you have to start.  Many times, it’s easy to get started. I know. Start working out, eating better, reading more, work on our personality, etc.  When I get started for me its running off of pure motivation. Come on Robert let’s go! And we are off. For a week, 10 days even a month or so. Then what happens. I didn’t sleep well last night so skip the gym and drink coffee in pajamas. Oh, I am craving donuts. I deserve a treat I have been doing so good. I skipped one workout I can skip another. I had one donut, what is a bacon cheese burger? And thus, it begins a week, a month or longer passes by. No gym, hit and miss with highly processed foods and fresh food. Blah back to square one. Out comes the mental notebook. Watch a few motivational videos, think of plan for exercise and food. Yep, tomorrow starts a new me. Tomorrow its too cold or too early. I didn’t have time to pack a lunch so fast food to the rescue. Back and forth through the year and it’s December 2023. Whoo hoo new me in 2024!

Have you been there? Have you done that? I still had the pudgy belly, was still out of breath walking from car into work. The scale still betrayed me. Bending over picking up a couple things made my lower back hurt. What is going to make this time different?

After reading and watching tons of information, it isn’t the same goals the same approach that will make a difference. “Nothing changes if nothing changes” echoes in my head…. “Nothing changes if nothing changes”

What was I going to change? A new workout? A new eating program? New YouTube channel? What was I going to do? I thought about what I had done and looked at the results. I read and watched and listened and thought about it. I was going to look back on things I had found and break them down in these small, tiny atomic habits. They may seem so small some might laugh at them; some might roll their eyes. I had enough planning, enough looking for the perfect outline of the perfect life. No matter how small, I was going to start. I was going to show up every day and do something. I would adjust and alter as I went along. But most of all I was going to get started right now. And I did at that moment.

I started with a super simple movement and food habits. Then started habit stacking and building routines and systems. I touch a lot more on what I did in the next few posts.  In the end it wasn’t about how easy it was it was about how consistent I am in doing them. Since about the end of December I gave it a shot, Jan 1 created a blog to help me be accountable and a written journal to keep track of movement.  I feel better, lost weight and moving much more. I know it wasn’t just motivation? How? Because there were times, I didn’t want to do it, didn’t want to eat that and eat this instead. I am not going to lie, I had some slips but through it all I kept showing up, kept doing the work. Day after day after day. Somethings are on automatic almost, non-negotiable now.

What I have learned personally is that nothing is quick and permanent when making changes and building habits that become routines. It takes time, sometimes lots of it and patience and consistency.  James Clear talks about 1% better every day. I applied that to just a little better every day. I walked 10 minutes one day, then the next I ran 15 seconds and walked 9 minutes and 45 seconds. I increased running 15 seconds every day 5 days a week. It was easy and I was making progress. I tracked it and sure enough I was improving.  I am still am till today.  (I’ll touch more on my movement habits in a later post)

I thought of an example, a what if so to speak. I am a morning person big time so getting up early isn’t really a challenge. But let’s say I am not, say 6 am is a struggle. I want to wake up at 5:30 and start my day off slowly with intent. What would I do to get up earlier.? Well, the obvious answer to many is set you alarm for 5:30 and get going., I would probably fail by the end of the week.  So, thinking tiny habits. Set your alarm for 5:59, when it goes off get up and stand up. Just stand there for one minute.  Do it one or two mornings. Maybe instead of stand there walk one step. In a couple of days set the alarm for 5:58 and repeat just stand there or walk a couple of steps. Increase it gradually. Make it so easy you say hey I could do more…but wait don’t. Keep your habit easy. Maybe in one month you are waking up at 5:50 moving around and it probably doesn’t feel that terrible. In three months, you might be getting up at 5:30. Three months! That’s crazy long time to get there. Not really if it becomes a habit for life. You may even find your self waking up before the alarm, your body trained and ready.

I hope you get the point. You may find some other way to wake up earlier if that is a habit you desire. It may be any desirable or undesirable habit. Break it down into tiny parts, keep track of it and make it consistent.  I found I had to fight the urge to do more right away. Wow it’s a nice day; I feel good I am going to walk 15 or 20 minutes. But when I stopped at 10, I found the urge to get back out there tomorrow even stronger. I began to see slowly but surely motivation wasn’t the factor. It was routine and habit, along with consistency that is the foundation. I found out that really motivation is a poor foundation.  Motivation is mood based and can be torn down as easily as it is built. Self-discipline is what makes you show up (Self-discipline can be a scary word to some but more on that another time). I know exactly what I am going to do tomorrow for my morning routine whether I motivated or not. I will show up because what I am doing at the moment isn’t hard it’s…well it’s habit.

In the end with any habit, be it starting a desirable habit or shedding an undesirable one, just get started. No matter how small, show up and do something. Track it and be consistent. Change, modify or adapt but just keep (why does just keep swimming come to mind /: ) going. Keep on keeping on. Talk about it, post about it here or contact me, you can even journal it or start your own blog. Whatever helps. Just keep going!

Yes, there are those people you can quit cold turkey and never look back. Those people who can get up one morning and go full steam ahead and have been doing it for forever. Friends I am not one of those people. If you aren’t either then welcome aboard. If you are then you are welcome too! The point is we are in this this together.  Learn and share. I am going to! The triumphs and the defeats laid out

So, get started right now if you can with your first tiny habit. I am nothing special or spectacular or genetically blessed or any other thing. I am just me in the crowd of humanity and I have taken my first step. I will keep on stepping. So think of me Monday morning at 4:50 am MST, I will up with my routine.

Hey know you what? I am proud of you! Talk soon.