Hello! I'm experimenting with blogging every day. Because I'm very new to this, I need your help. Please take a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will post stories, thoughts, and possibly recipes (if I'm having an off day). Here's the post for today.
I’ve known that habits are an excellent way to get stuff done for a while. But at some point, over a year ago now, I read a post by James Clear that made everything clicked for me. Suddenly, I didn’t just know habits were good for you. I realised they were good for me. I realised that I could tack on habits to my morning routine and improve whatever it is I'm working on just by doing 10 minutes of it every day.
I followed James’ advice and started with just one thing. I was already doing meditation but not at the same time every day, and I wasn’t always getting to it. I started doing it first thing after I get up, without fail. I got up 10 minutes earlier and did my meditation. And it worked. I haven’t missed a day since—today I’m on day 407.
Then, after two months of that, I decided I wanted to do a few minutes of yoga, to stretch and get my body out of bed. I do that before the meditation. I do a class once a week, but now I also practice every morning. So, admittedly, now I get up about half an hour earlier than I used to because I do 15 minutes each yoga and meditation. But I love it. It’s so worth the half hour.
I’m not going to tell you that I now can do the crazy poses they do on the Facebook ads. I’m pushing 40 and have no joints in my legs to speak of. I’m happy if I don’t fall off the mat. But I’ve also made progress in class, and I’m doing a frigging headstand every morning, and it’s fantastic. If you’d told me a year ago I would be doing a headstand every morning and loving it I would have laughed in your face.
I’m also not going to tell you that my life had changed because of these habits. They haven’t. I’m the same person with the same anxieties and most of my meditation time is spent realising that I’ve started planning my day or worrying about the kids’ homework again. But by the time I get downstairs for breakfast I’ve already done something with myself that day. Some days, that’s all I get done. Well, other than getting the kids to and from school. For example, today my internet is down, so I’m improvising. I may not even get to post my daily blog post, and it’s proving difficult for me to work without my music (which is on Apple Music. I’m so going to download all of it as soon as I get the connection back). But I’ve done yoga and meditation, so I’m not a complete bum. At least, that’s what I tell my grandmother’s voice in my head.