Creating a routine that fits
At one point or another in your life, you must have been told that to build a successful life you’re going to need to build habits of success or something to that effect. This may sound a little corny but, it’s true. Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Did you just think “Well if you put it like that”, roll your eyes and immediately start searching your mind for things you repeatedly do? Me too.
The thing about building habits is, it’s hard.
There is no one size fits all with habits, there are guidelines but when it comes to building a life that feels good, you have to blaze your own trail. You have to figure out what works for you, what feels right for you and what makes your life all the more wholesome. This takes dedication, it takes clarity and it needs hope.
The dedication to creating a life and strive to achieve it against all odds - because there will be odds. The clarity of purpose behind your decisions and the habits you’re trying to form - essentially, a salient ‘why’. And finally hope. Hope isn’t a feeling but a thought process. A way of thinking that enables you to continue the pursuit of your goals past your challenges and above your failures. Dedication, clarity and hope make a solid band in your effort to create and cement a routine that fits.
If it takes so much work, why do it? Why do we need habits?
Quite simply, so that achieving your goals becomes a function of your routine. Having a daily routine that you follow helps you establish priorities - this builds clarity. Routines also limit procrastination and keep you on track with your goals - this affirms dedication. Habits remove our reliance on willpower and motivation and rather gives us something better, assurance in ourselves. And this is how hope enters the playing field.
Brian Tracy coined it perfectly when he said “Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with.”
Automating your day takes the pressure off of you to make good decisions everyday. Habits make it easy to live well. You start making decisions that align with your goals out of pure habit not willpower. You create less room for deviations and this doesn’t mean your life must lack spontaneity but rather, it means that when spontaneous events occur when the dust settles, you are able to jump right back into the life you have envisioned for yourself.
The trick to building habits that stick is to start small. The trick to building habits that fit is to start with ‘why’ and make sure that ‘why’ is rooted in self-love not people-pleasing or worse, shame. We will dedicate ourselves to habits that make us feel good about the person we are becoming. And we will stick to these habits when we start seeing + feeling small but inspiring changes.
So here are some questions to consider when deciding what kind of routine best suits you :
What kind of work do you do on a daily basis?
How early do you have to be awake? Can you wake up earlier?
What is the first thing you do in the morning? How do you feel afterwards?
What time do you sleep every night? Can you sleep earlier?
When do you take a break every day? Can you block you this time?
What is your escape?
What type of food gives energy?
How often do you eat?
After working through these questions, you will be able to find gaps for improvement and places where you can add or remove something to help you better align with the life you want to live. But remember, this is hard work so be kind, be patient and be compassionate with yourself every step of the way.
By @PhemiSegoe