Day 6: Being a Healthier Author
It's a Marathon Not a Sprint
Maybe that's too cliche...BUT it really does describe our current fight. It's really easy to stop doing something because we're not seeing immediate results. It's even easier to feel the soreness and accumulated exhaustion that a change like what we're going through brings, and choose to take a day off; Pat ourselves on the shoulder, and put off today's activity for tomorrow.
We've been good, right?
Don't fall into that trap. The gravel rest area looks like a good place to stop for the day, to set up camp, and make for the summit tomorrow. The problem with the loose stone is that it sticks with us; on our shoes, and on our gear. In the future, we could be climbing and those small stone chips could cause us to slip and fall. Or even worse. A rainy day strikes and were definitely going to slip. The problem with a BAD DAY of rain is that they never come by themselves. Usually, it heralds a rainy season.
Building a Habit
What we're doing is building a habit. We're creating consistent and persistent changes in our lives. Just like any construction project, it's really fun to plan, but the instant you start tearing stuff apart, the task becomes real and very large. There is good news, though. When we stick to the plan and complete one task after the next, progress is made. Once we've done it long enough a habit forms and we'll get better at it. That habit is what we are after.
The 21 / 90 rule...
What is it?
It's a simple concept that says it takes three weeks, or twenty-one days to form a habit. That's a huge milestone in this journey and it's when the new activity in our life is no longer a puzzle piece without a home. Suddenly the activity has become part of our day and thus it becomes easier.
The next part is to turn that habit into a lifestyle. That's the three months or approximately ninety days. That's why I say it's a marathon, not a sprint. We need to have the true goal in mind to know where we are going but not get discouraged by the size of the task. All we have to do is take one step at a time.
Tips to success:
One of the things I like to do is track things over a larger time period than day-to-day. It gives me the daily sense of accomplishment but, if done right, also shows me better-measured progress. According to my scale this morning, I've lost four pounds since day one. The problem with taking a single day's weight as success is that tomorrow I might be heavier again. This is normal! A body fluctuates up and down about five pounds. So there is approximately a ten-pound variance. By taking each measurement over a week and averaging it we are less likely to get discouraged and more likely to see the actual progress from that week!
Thank you everyone for keeping me working at this. The plan moving forward is to do another blog post tomorrow and then put out a blog once a week. So Day 7 and then Day 14 etc. However, I would love your feedback. I would love to hear about areas that you might like me to discuss. If you comment below I will attempt to make posts in between the weekly blogs to cover those topics.