Recently we spoke about using small habits to win your day. That small, regular actions add up in the long run. Which is great. We can start building new habits that are aligned with our values and are aimed at where we want to be heading. Starting is hard. If we are building a new habit, we need to make sure that we having strategies in place so we can continue at it. Small wins aren’t just about starting. To get to where we want to go, or who we want to be, or live out our philosophy day be day, we need to keep going.
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Once we have our new habits, and we have identified the habits and actions that we want to continue, it’s vital we maintain them. It’s easier to stay in motion than it is to start. Let’s remind ourselves of this. It’s easier to stay in motion than start. Staying in motion doesn’t have to be a huge, heroic effort. Some days will be hard. We can stay in motion by:
- doing 10 pushups
- reading one page
- learning five new Spanish words
- going on a 10 minute walk
- writing one paragraph
- sending a thinking of you text message
Not that we want to do this each day. We also know that our regular efforts need to be considered and appropriate. So we do want to get that chest workout in, but when days are really hard and/or life gets in the way, stay in motion by doing 10 pushups.
If we need to stay in motion, we should enjoy the fact that this is occurring. It’s certainly much easy to continue doing things we like to do then things we don’t. Therefore, we may need to learn to enjoy the journey, so here’s a couple of tips:
- Find enjoyment in the struggle, in pressing hard to get that extra rep, or in running that extra 100 metres. Focus on what you are doing rather than your mind
- Make it fun by combining the activity with something more enjoyable. Listen to a podcast or music whilst walking. Sing a song whilst doing pushups. Read outside. Write whatever comes to mind without judgement if it’s a terrible sentence or not
- Put the habits and activities into your reminders app as recurring reminders. It will help you remember, and you can make a challenge of it as you have to tick it off
- Get things done in the morning. Each day your ‘to do’ of behaviours and tasks reset. You’re going to need to go to the gym again, go for a walk again, write more, study more, and so forth. Do it in the morning so it’s done and you have the rest of the day and night clear to focus on other things and engage in some leisure
- Give yourself little challenges along the way – one week of no donuts, one week of 10 air squats when you get up
- Write a ‘this is the person I want to be’ manifesto and revisit it
- Have a joke you enjoy on hand for when things get hard. It’s always easier to keep going when there is laughter
- Remind ourselves that it is the journey that matters and is the main part of our lives, not the destination
- Where you can, do the thing with friends. It’s always fun if you are sweating through a workout together, or gathering around the same place for a writing sprint, or having good conversations to explore ideas and thoughts
- Breathe, smile, and do the thing
Journey before destination. Living the life we want is carrying out small actions and behaviours each day. So let’s start, keep going, and enjoy the journey.