Here’s my second progress report about managing a personal change to become healthier, with more consistent and higher energy through each day. Recall, the process is a “Habit Acquisition Project” to incorporate new habits (nearly automatic activities) as Productive Actions on your journey from your Current State (yuck) to your Dream State (yay).
As they say, I have some good news, and some bad news…
First, the bad news: I continue to face some difficulty in nailing all 10 of the rituals I am practicing every day. Even with a daily recap of progress, evaluated publicly at dinner with my wife and son, my consistency is still, well, inconsistent. In particular, the action of taking a brief energy break every 90 minutes–getting up to stretch, take a brief walk–seems to elude me as I work each day. Not that I suck completely at this, but it’s one of those things that still isn’t where I want it to be. When I do it, I find it really does provide an energy lift, and it avoids posture and muscle fatigue issues.
The good news? All 10 rituals are getting easier to accommodate into my schedule, especially hitting the gym 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes of “burn it” exercise. I have begun the process of subordinating less important habits, from which action I am finding the space in my day to work out without a conflict with important stuff. Mindless TV watching especially is becoming a thing of the past. I am only watching the new “24” series–I had never seen it before because I had always missed the first few hours of the day, and who wants to try to catch up once that’s happened?
Here are the general insights for your use from Week Two:
1. Recall the Dream State that started your process in the first place. Re-read, and maybe re-write, WHY achieving the Dream State mattered to you. Paint the picture of the Dream State in more exact and vivid detail as you go. Link your actions, however imperfect, to that Dream. That’s your fuel for forward progress. For example, Chet advised me to imagine more specific detail of a healthy, energetic life ten years from now. I immediately saw in my mind’s eye my family, which by that time may include young grandchildren, all skiing the slopes of Breckenridge, Colorado on a glorious winter day in January 2020…SO VERY EXCITING!
2. If you start out in good faith, but blow your rituals, just keep going. The point is to use all 12 weeks to acquire the new habit, not the first one or two. Keep going. Do NOT give in, or give up, just because you aren’t perfect in execution right out of the gate. Persistence pays.
3. Ask for encouragement from your accountability team. “Atta boys” always feel good to me, and the positive energy that flows from them is more fuel for change.
I hope you are making progress. If you are, please share it with us.
More from me next week.
BUILT TO LEAD 