Just some more thoughts on habit forming.
We're talking about adding an activity not removing one. In other words, it's not going to work if the habit I want to create is to not eat junk food. It's interesting, though, that when we add a positive activity to our lives we tend to automatically remove negative activities that were getting in the way of the positive ones.
My goal, for example, might be to run a marathon. The first habit I want to develop is increasing my daily exercise by, say, walking three miles a day. Eventually I would want to run those three miles. Along the way, I'm going to perhaps quit smoking or cut down on sweets because -- if the goal is important enough to me -- those behaviors will get in the way of the walking or the running and of the eventual marathon.
This is essential stuff because it's laying the foundation for reaching goals. When we achieve goals we feel great.
Which brings me to another important aspect of this project. Let's keep the goals and the activities positive, life affirming. If we were considering the goal of becoming a complete couch potato, we need to seriously reconsider that goal. Achieving it will not, trust me, improve the quality of our lives.
Part of the goal of witsendmagazine is to help us feel great.
Okay.
Tomorrow's the day.
Let's go for it.
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4 comments:
Our dog Molly has the right attitude toward habits.
For the last two mornings, we've gone for a walk. She likes that, because it's nice and cool and a lot of other dogs are out walking with their people too. We also go for a shorter walk in the evening, like we've always done.
Therefore, as far as Molly is concerned, after two days of this new walking schedule, this is the way we've always done it. She is on my case from the minute I get up in the morning, whining and begging for a walk. Then it's the same thing in the evening.
She likes this two-walk-a-day routine, and it's her latest habit. Forget the 21-day business.
In dog time two days is the equivalent of our 21, I believe.
Oh, of course. I forgot about that.
Oh, of course. I forgot about that.
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