Repetition is Powerful
I feel like Fridays on this blog have become the day where I hand out a weekend assignment. It was never a conscious decision on my part to start handing out weekend homework, but now I can't stop : )
Repetition is powerful. It's how you memorize vocabulary words and dance steps and build muscle and chop down a tree. Small as they may seem, any and every habit that's part of everyday routine is going to be a powerful shaper of your life.
This is great if you have good daily habits, not so great if your daily routine is slowly solidifying negative habits. This weekend, how about making one change to your daily routine?
Take one day to make a list of all the little things that have become so much of a habit that you do them without even thinking… everything from brushing your teeth to checking your email. What do you wish was on the list, but isn't? What's on the list even though it shouldn't be?
Cross something off your list, or write something in. Post the list somewhere visible in your house, or wherever you'll be when you'll need to remember the change to the daily habit. Some say it takes two weeks for a change to your daily routine to feel natural, and others say it takes a month or more. Just keep forcing yourself to repeat the change you've made in your habit. If you miss a day, just pick it up again the next day.
You'll know you've succeeded when one day you completely forget about the habit change... but do it anyway!
-Brigitte
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Comments
Joe436 Saturday, May 22, 2010
As cliche as this sounds, I need to start exercising again. I stopped a few months ago after going on vacation for two weeks and then getting sick for a few days. Three weeks of no exercise and I went back to sitting on the couch and watching reruns on TV. I guess tomorrow is the day I go back to getting in shape.
Thanks Brigitte
romeo Saturday, May 22, 2010
on behalf of all timber wolves..
please consider dropping the hatchet ~for the tree stands firm gently aware in the cool breeze and it's here to stay for keeps.
everyone is born perfect -remaining one is another topic......
romeo Sunday, May 23, 2010
repetition is impossible in the sense that no one can cross the same river twice.........
but only a powerful river can remain as one in the ocean of life.....
is making out and sleeping in on a regular basis count
Blargal Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hello,Brigitte.
Changing a routine, by eliminating a habitual act, may be hard, if it is a well entrenched event.
I can see why 2 weeks seems to be a tip over point/The neural pathways made, will take a long time to reprogram. It may be easier to add a task, even if it replaces a bad habit. It might be easy to learn a new thing, rather than trying to remove a bad habit.The closest I can come to making a change, is to change the time I wake up on my own, rather than using an alarm of some type.