Getting back on track
That time of the year when we break that chain of habit.
Restarting a broken habit can seem daunting to anyone. I read somewhere recently that Jan 17th is the day when a lot of people give up on their new year resolutions. I thought this is a great time to write about this.
There are couple of reasons why a habit is broken:
Not feeling the why anymore? When we break a habit, we also lose in touch with why we really set this as a goal. The one thing that has helped me in the past is to get back to the ‘why’ of the goal. Why did I set this goal, what made me set this goal. Let me give a couple of examples:
I decided to get fit(GOAL) after one day when I was playing with my daughter in the park, I felt breathless after running a few steps trying to catch her(the WHY). So I want to join a gym and workout three days a week (HABIT).
I decided to start saving for a rainy day(GOAL) after I saw a close friend go thru hell after requiring money when someone in his family went through a medical emergency(the WHY). So I want to save x% every month towards a goal of Rs. Y (HABIT).
I decided to become a subject matter expert on web3(GOAL) after being in a client meeting where the topic suddenly turned towards web3 and I had no clue(the WHY). So I want to do 3 highly rated online courses everyday within the next 1 month (HABIT).
How to overcome this? It is important to get back to that feeling of why you chose the goal. So, the first lesson is to write down why this goal is important to you. When you write that down, then you can read it later and still feel that emotional connect with that goal. If the goal is important enough, that should let you get started again even if the habit got broken.
Something else takes its place. I started working out during the holidays from 7a to 7:45a. Then my daughter’s school started and I had to get her ready and drop her during that time. Once that happened, I just couldn’t find a slot to do my workout. Either I could decide not to drop my daughter or I had to find another time to do my workout. I chose the latter. Now I have to wake up early to do the workout or if I miss that I do it at 5, after pick her up from school.
How to overcome this? slot it in your time table. If you want to get back to the habit, find an alternative time or reclaim the original time, but please be sure to add it to your time table.
As always, remember, give yourself a little break, don’t be too hard on yourself. It is ok.
I would love to hear your tips on how one can get back to the habit after having repeatedly failed at keeping up the habit.