FOR THE SAKE OF HABIT

October 12th, 2019

Let’s say you’re sick. 

It’s gonna happen.

The season is coming. 

Hell, for some it’s already here and people are calling in sick.

Being sick is one of those circumstances when we become quick to cut ourselves all sorts of slack. 

We slack on the project, we skip work, we pull out the tub of ice cream, we turn on the Netflix and let it auto play for the rest of the day. 

All those good habits?  . . . eh.  That can slide too.

But is this wise?

Think about the future you.  Would that person be happy if you let a good habit slide in a way that creates more work for that future version of yourself to reinstall that good habit?

Probably not.

But being sick seems like the perfect excuse.  In some ways we take it as a license to have an impromptu vacation from our own life.

What’s better is to try and keep those habits in tact.

That doesn’t mean we have to do our full workout, but what about just showing up at the gym.  Maybe hitting the steamroom.  Or just to stretch.

The act of simply showing up is far more potent than actually achieving an amazing performance.

As Woody Allen once said: 80% of success is just showing up.

It’s true not just in life with jobs and in the eyes of other people, but it’s true in the context of our own brains and how we compound our tiny efforts into longer-term success. 

Just showing up to the gym, or listening to the 20 minute meditation instruction while lying down and paying only half attention.  These seemingly useless efforts keep our brain primed for the sort of daily routine that we ultimately want.

So for the sake of the habit,

just show up,

even if it’s in the smallest way possible.