Twice Is A Habit Darn It!

The Universe/God/Spirit definitely has a sense of humor.

Have you ever had that moment when one of your kids, or students, or friends quotes back to you your own advice and you can feel how right they are when they say it and you hate them for it?
 
That’s what happened to me when I read my own May 23 blog post.  I was coming back from a weekend mini-vacation with my husband, Dave, at Joshua Tree National Park (which, I have to say, has given me a bit of understanding of how the desert has a powerful beauty that I can learn to be nourished by as I live here without much access to my usual soul-nourishing parts of the world – like the most amazing Seneca Lake and the Wissahickon woods. If you want to check out Joshua Tree yourself you might try out this cool guide I just found out about RV Camping in Joshua Tree National Park.)
 
Anyway, I’d written this particular post several weeks ago, for just such a week as this – when I wanted to take a couple days off or for some other reason didn’t manage to write a new post.  So, my amazing assistant, Ruby, got it all set to go and sent it to me for final edits … and then I had to read it. 
 
Ouch. 
 
I have let go of a lot of habits lately. 
 
I mean, a lot.
 
I let go of running every morning a few months ago (I’ve been meaning to ‘fess up about that to you all for awhile) – first I let go of the early morning run, then even the after work walk/run.  For a few weekends I managed to do a pretty strenuous walk or hike with my husband at least both Saturday and Sunday, but even those I’ve missed a couple times lately. 
 
And the yoga teacher I talked with months back about getting yoga started?  Um.  Yeah.  Well.
 
Also, in the midst of a really intense time at work I dropped my steadfast commitment to writing and then working on my business for half an hour each morning.
 
You may be thinking that this string of confessions is not very inspiring.  Not a great advertisement for all the stuff I’ve told you about before that has made my life better and can make yours better too. 
 
Except it is.  Because this is how life works.  Imperfectly.  And this is what I want you to know.  As Katherine North says often “It’s a spiral.” Not a straight line.
 
I have, in fact, lost hold of some of the new habits I started. In some cases, the choice was at least partially conscious – like when I put everything that I could on hold to meet important deadlines at my day job.  In some cases, unavoidable, like when staff called out and I had to go in to cover for them right at the time when I usually write in the morning.
 
In other cases, it feels like my old story – I’ve never quite managed to make exercise an integrated part of my life.  I’ve long been inclined towards finding positive feeling in food or drink when the challenges of my day make it hard for me to access positive emotion.
 
BUT…
 
It’s also not the end of my story.
 
So, after reading my own words speaking back to me about the support that regular habits and routines can bring, I returned to my writing habit by telling myself that even though that big work project isn’t quite done I would write and work on my business for at least 5 minutes each day. 
 
And it was good. 
 
I wonder if there’s a habit/routine or practice that you have let go of that you want to try out again? 
 
Remember to make it tiny.  5 minutes.  One day.  One block. One page.  One sentence.  One phone call.  There’s power in the tiny-est bit of movement.  You have not failed.  You aren’t stuck with your old story.  Make a new one.
 
Here’s to thriving…and equity.
 
Deb