#386 The lifeline that keeps you afloat
Today, you may have to use brute force to do what’s good for you.
But one day, the habits installed by brute force may well be the lifeline keeps you afloat.
Today, you may have to use brute force to do what’s good for you.
But one day, the habits installed by brute force may well be the lifeline keeps you afloat.
The more frequent and the less intrusive the habit, the easier it is to stick to.
Commit to writing for an hour once week? You’ll find a million reasons to procrastinate until the very last moment, on Sunday night, to write.
Commit to writing for 5 minutes once a day? The timeline is so short, there are no more excuses.
Make it doable. Make it frequent. And suddenly every habit is within reach.
Every promise to yourself is a contract in invisible ink.
Jo Franco on the Not Your Average Jo podcast. I recommend you listen to this episode
But it’s not because it’s hidden from view that it doesn’t carry any weight.
Every broken contract with yourself goes on the pile of self-distrust.
So don’t overextend. Don’t make promises to yourself that you can’t keep anyway.
Start with a tiny contract with yourself. Then stick to the terms.
Build trust every day through Tiny Trust Builders.
Remember that the contract is made, so now is not the time to negotiate.
Retrace the letters of that invisible contract every single day.
Then, one day, the invisible ink is tattooed on your mind, and you’ve forged an unbreakable bond between your words and actions.
You kind of want to run a marathon.
You kind of want to eat better.
You kind of want to move more.
You kind of want to feel better.
And everything kind of stays the same.
Only when “kind of” becomes “absolutely” and “want to” becomes “choose to” change happens.
I absolutely choose to write.
I absolutely choose to run a marathon.
I absolutely choose to eat better.
I absolutely choose to move more.
I absolutely choose to do whatever it takes to feel better.
Because there is no other way.
Yesterday could have been a good time to start.
Tomorrow may be a good time to start.
But now is always the best time to start.
You don’t need to know how the story will end to start it.
In fact, if you think you know how it’ll end, you close yourself off from the possibility of it ending even better than you ever thought possible.
So start without fear. Start with an open mind.
Then keep going without fear. Keep going with an open mind.
Because you don’t even know half of what’s truly possible.
Isn’t that a nice way to start your day?
Could there be an easier path to do what you want to do?
Have you ever considered taking that path?
If not, could you consider it today?
If yes, are the reasons why you don’t take that path still valid?
Could it all be much simpler than you’re making it?