I have been doing a little experiment for the past few months. I have been trying to get myself to do things for only 5 minutes a day, every day. I find that everything inside of me is resistant to change, so in order to change I need to somehow convince myself that it isn't so bad. I realize that almost everything I do, both positive and negative, is the result of a habit that I have. I have come to believe that what we call "willpower" is a joke. I can get myself to change for a day or two, but to keep the new pattern long enough for it to form a habit has seemed almost impossible.
So back to my experiment. I am not so much focusing on getting the thing done as much as I am focusing on forming a new habit. I can do almost anything for 5 minutes a day as long as I can convince myself that the long term fruit of it is going to be worth it. If I do the math I find that 5 minutes a day is more than 30 hours a year. That may not seem like much, but its more than I usually spend doing things that are outside of my regular routine.
I have also started adding 1 minute every week to my new habits. I have found it to be working amazingly well. Some of my new habits are up to 20 minutes a day and I haven't missed a day yet. There have been many days that I have not wanted to do the new thing but I've done it anyway, and that was the goal all along.
Now I feel like afish floating on top of the water after one of those big firecrackers went off underwater: Can't quite get my mind around this. Must be the difference between young pups and retired folk, lol.
ReplyDeleteBut this morning, with the help of two pots of coffee... I was able to remember waaaaaay back when I did have the energy and a life that allowed... I never was wise enough to "plan" my habits in such way. I've always just went where the water "seemed" to take me.
ReplyDeleteThis is all interesting to think on. Thanks, man.
Two pots is too much. Thanks for engaging with me Brother.
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