Additionally, there are a lot of good habits I wish I had, and want to cultivate. Drinking more water. Properly caring for my skin. Walking daily. Being comfortable in my body. Having confidence in myself. Being able to say what I want to say, and do what I want to do, rather than being paralyzed by fear of how I will be received. Giving myself pep talks.
Creating plans and concrete steps is something I am very inexperienced at (look, I stopped myself from saying I am bad at it!). So when I came up with this idea to tackle a new thing every week, I was excited. In the past, I did not believe I could actually change things. I would try, and fail shortly after. Or my attempts would be very long and drawn out, because they are major changes. But I need more immediate results to prove to myself it is possible.
I got my first taste of that when I spent a month with Z, and my diet radically changed. Among several other things, I was no longer getting my fluid intake from diet sodas. After what wound up being withdrawal from the aspartame, I decided not to consume artificial sweeteners anymore. When I returned home, most of the good habits I had picked up were lost when I was in the pit of depression.
But as of November 17, 2011, I have not had any artificial sweeteners. And that has shown me that I actually can make changes that stick longer than a week or two.
And, so, March 19th, the Habit a Week challenge was started. Here is how it works:
Week One
Give up or change an existing habit pertaining to the physical. For example, this past week I gave up desserts (I am allowed chocolate that is 50% dark or more). The goal is not to punish myself or permanently deprive myself, just break the habit (in this case addiction and over consumption of sugar, especially in processed foods).Week Two
Alter a habit that pertains to mental and emotional health. This coming week, the goal is to catch when I am insulting myself, and try and look at it more objectively and correct it. So when I say I am too incapable for a job, or that I am not strong or brave enough to move across the country, I will, instead, tell myself that I am capable and I can do it.Week Three
Introduce something entirely new. For example, the first thing I will introduce is walking at least four hours a week outside of my day job.Week Four
Evaluate how I did with week one's habit. If I am still doing good with it, then I can introduce a new habit to work on in that category. If I slipped up or feel I need more time, then I refocus on week one's habit, and try again for the next three weeks.Week five, I evaluate week two and do the same thing. Week six, evaluate week three. Seven, evaluate both week one and four. And so on, and so forth.
Some habits I expect may stick fairly easily. Others, especially in the second category, I expect may take months before I am ready to add a new habit. I am hoping by mixing time consuming, more abstract, and concrete habits, I will get the visible results I need to keep myself motivated and going, as well as make progress with more difficult issues.
And so, expect a weekly update on here regarding habits. I have been completely successful so far with the desserts. If anyone else cares to join me, or would like to share some of their habits they want to break, or new ones to cultivate, please feel free to share in the comments!
