There is great deal of power in habit and you can harness a great deal of good by doing simple things really well. If you are able to commit to doing little things consistently, you’ll form some good habits that will change your life. It’s inevitable but why is it so hard?
Routine gets a bad rap sometimes. Probably because our context comes from a very tainted place.
From the time we get to work every morning and by the time we get to leave in the afternoon, we’re inundated with habitually dreadful routines.
We have to push this or move that.
Coffee.
We have to try not to bludgeon ourselves at another staff meeting.
More Coffee.
Listen to coworkers complains about their day.
Smoke and coffee.
Answer emails and make phone calls.
Coffee.
Type some words.
Cookie.
Photocopy.
More coffee.
Deep breath.
Smoke and coffee.
Get in the car and drive home.
Tea.
Rest.
And repeat.
No wonder we’re tired. No wonder we pray for the weekend. Celebrate the coming of Friday like the coming of spring. No wonder we’re unfulfilled. No wonder we are dying without ever living.
But the secret to living a meaningful life lies in both habit and routine.
Not the routine we know too well and have described above, but in simple little things that when compound over a long period of time to produce tremendous returns.
There is power in routine.
Do something long enough. Faithfully enough. Consistently enough. And it will change you.
But habits are thought up, they are not felt.
If you want to eat well and stay healthy, you have to prepare and plan your meals every day. Habitually. Routinely. You can’t just feel yourself through your meals. You can’t just feel and ask yourself what you want to eat when you get hungry. By then its too late. There are far too many places everywhere that are more than happy to nourish you and dazzle you with satisfying taste, while taking your hard earned money. At the supermarket for example you can buy a dozen eggs and a bag of english muffins for about the same price it will cost you to eat one Egg McMuffin at McDonalds.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat at McDonald’s. What I am saying is that you have been given a brain and you are an autonomous human being that is free to decide what you want in life and you can create a systems of routines to make sure you get there. The funny thing is that if you don’t create the routines, those routines will be created for you.
It takes time and effort to build habits but it is so worth it.
Many people hate going to the gym. The complain how hard it is and what a pain in the ass it can be. They want fitness out of a box. So they convince themselves to go for a little while and then they quit. They pick up a magazine and see a handsome man with abs and decide they want some of that. After six weeks, when the abs have stubbornly ignored them, they quit.
They need routine.
Routine without feelings.
A routine and a set of habits that doesn’t care how you feel.
It doesn’t care for excuses.
I really like the way Jen Sincero puts it. Your routine demands that you to get the fuck on the fuck.
Thats right!
Naught words. Bleep. Bleep. Get over yourself.
Go get the fuck on the fuck.
Start doing the little things.
Every day.
Little things.
Write 300 words. Eat 200 calories less. Walk 15 minutes.
Gossip less. Be grateful more.
Every day.
Choose your routine.
Commit to new habits.
Don’t capitulate.
Ever.
Patiently see where you are in five years.
Pass it on.
Inspire others and teach them about the power of routine.
