#512 Stay the course, every day

835 days ago, I started writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling every day.

It’s my one habit where I haven’t missed a single day, but not because I’m afraid I would quit if I skipped a day (I’ve built up enough self-trust and elastic discipline by now).

Not because I derive so much creative and therapeutic benefit from it either (I do, but skipping a day here and there wouldn’t diminish that benefit).

None of that would warrant my hardliner habit approach to journaling, my friend. You know I’m more of an elastic discipline guy.

The real reason I never miss a journaling day is that it was the first habit I ever managed to stick to consistently.

Because of that, it reminds me that I can change my beliefs, habits, and identity, no matter how hard it seems.

It reminds me that, on that momentous day in 2021, my identity started shifting from eternal quitter to consistent go-getter.

It reminds me that actions overrule thoughts.

In other words: Journaling daily has become a beacon of self-trust.

And I’ll be eternally grateful for the day I decided to take a pen and put it on the paper.

I hope you have such a beacon of self-trust in your life.

And if not, I hope you’ll find or create one soon.

P.S. Maybe you already have a beacon of trust, but you’re not aware of it.

After all, the specific activity doesn’t matter.

You could go for a walk every day. Play the guitar. Learn a new phrase in a new language. Do one pushup.

Anything that reminds you of the fact that you, too, can do things aligned with who you want to be.

P.P.S I’m curious… If you have a beacon of self-trust, what is it? Let me know by replying to this Insight!

When everything is urgent, how do we know what to do first?

One solution is adding more nuance:

What’s the most urgent?

What’s the most important?

Breathing is urgent.

A crying child is urgent.

A toilet visit can be urgent.

Sending that email out tonight right before bed instead of tomorrow, maybe not so much?

Here’s the important question:

If you’re going to prioritize the urgent matters anyway, why stress yourself out by calling everything urgent in the first place?

Making everything urgent devalues truly urgent matters.

Because when everything is urgent, nothing is urgent anymore.

“I can only do that when…”

Remove the “only” and the when”.

I can do that.

And so can you.