It’s definitely the holidays for me. The time is 10:19pm and I’m just starting my writing. I haven’t meditated yet, (and missed the last couple days), and haven’t worked out yet either. Why? I’m off of my routines and my morning habits are not getting done to start my day.
Although it was not a busy day, I did get some important errands done, and don’t feel like I wasted the day… but here I am feeling very little motivation to get a workout in. I will, but it feels like effort.
That’s the difference between good habits and routines versus motivation. When I have my routines set, writing just gets done. Workouts get done. Meditation gets done. Zero motivation needed.
But let my routines slip and suddenly everything gets harder to get started. And getting started is the hardest part. Some days I feel like crap and just go through the motions simply because that’s part of my routine. Some of those days continue to feel hard, but sometime the act of getting started is all I need to turn the day, or at least my mood, around.
Routines help me get started. No motivation required. And now it’s time to finish this and get started on my workout. I think I’ll do a walking meditation on my treadmill and that’s one less thing to have to motivate myself to do. The best thing I’ve ever done for my health and wellbeing has been the strict routines I’ve created to get my healthy living goals done. I just need to rethink how I maintain these routines over my holidays.
Look forward to your next thoughts on this!
Here I am at the other end of the world, feeling exactly as you describe. I do agree on the power of habits. They give you strength, a basis to build upon. Perhaps the end of the year is a time to be patient with ourselves and trust that we will fall back on our habits as soon as we recharge.
So nice to hear from you Claudia! Something I did that ‘turned a switch’ in me with my healthy living routine was the dedication to stick to it in my busiest times. If I could exercise when I feel like I didn’t have time, I knew I could exercise no matter what my schedule was. Now, years later, I can stick with my routines during the crazy times and it’s the lazy times that I struggle. I honestly think the challenge is to ‘routinize’ my holidays to some extent… this is the work I have to do before I retire and find my schedule a lot more free.