Tag Archives: atomic habits

Last Day

Posted on by
1

It’s the last day of May and what have I to show? Not alot but I thought I should show up and wrap up the month of May. It is hard to be cheerful and optimistic when the world is a fire hazard. The other day our premier declared a state of emergency after Manitoba declares provincewide state of emergency over wildfires. Yesterday our sky was grey. There was no sun. The air was acrid with smoke. The air quality index was 11. Today the sun came through but so did the smoke. The air qulaity index right at the moment is 9 which is worse than same time last night. I hope it’s not the trend for the summer.

I’m hoping for rain. We’ve only had 2 rains this year. We’re lucky we have many rain catchments. It helps to water the greenhouse, fill the raised beds and water the garden. When life gets hard, I resort to turning on the city water. It’s easier and faster. I know we won’t have enough water in our catchments. I’m being smart, saving my energy on days when I don’t have any. We are so dry this year, the elm trees are putting out tons of seeds. It was windy yesterday, creating a windfall of elm seeds. It looked like a snow storm. There’s piles of it everywhere.

What else can I say about May? Oh, yes, my goal was to use May to develope better habits. And I have! Isn’t that wonderful? I’ve read Atomic Habits before. What I used from it was to keep things easy and simple. B.J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits is the real game changer for me. It has the same principles but much more. I don’t know how to go into the specifics now. Maybe I can in June. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits actually took the Tiny Habits course before writing his book. That goes to show how good it is.

I think this is enough chatter for now. It is getting late. Keeping it short and simple, good night.

The Things I Used to Do

Posted on by
7

A sunny April morning at 10 am but still dark when I woke at 6. I’m not bouncing out of bed yet. I am more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I am grateful for what I am and for what I have. I am still me. I have my spirit though it is a bit dampened. I have recovered my hearing. It, too, is a bit dampened. I can hear the running of the furnace and the flush of the toilet. I can carry on a converstion, listening and speaking, no longer relying on pen and paper.

Life is good. It is full of wonder and mystery. I try to bask in the warmth and light. I try not to ask too many whys to questions that have no answers. I am still healing. I do not want to lose any unnecessary energy. I try to dwell in moments of “remembered wellness.” I pray and ask for prayers. It all has helped me to be here today – tapping on the keyboard, finding my way back to the things I used to do. I’m doing it slowly, taking James Clear’s advice from his book Atomic Habits. I want to make things easy.

STARTING OVER

Posted on by
Reply

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I have a million and one things to do, to fix, to organize, to…. But I can’t get started. Nothing works – not waiting till tomorrow, not after another cup of tea/coffee. And so I pushed it all towards the back of my mind. It hovers and nags at me continuously. I play repeat – wait till tomorrow and now I am making another cup of decaf. My head is a nest of crawly ants and swarming mosquitoes. How to get some relief?

I think of starting over, turning a new leaf, unbecoming myself. I think of my words for the year – be brilliant and resilient. What would that mean? How to get rid of the ants and mosquitoes and be calm and peaceful? I want to be like Patience and Fortitude sitting through the seasons through all kinds of weather, without a sigh or whisper.

Patience and Fortitude, the “Library Lion” statues, in a December 1948 snowstorm – Wikipedia

The first order of business would seem to be quiet and still – to weather the storm, whatever it may be. The question is how? The first thing that came to mind is James Clear’s Book, Atomic Habits – tiny changes, remarkable results. Instead of thinking big, I could think small. I could do one small thing/day along with my #100dayproject.

I like the word could. It has a positive, hopeful ring to it. Could leads to possibilities and not a dead end. I will follow it.

WHEN I CHANGED

Posted on by
5

When I changed, the whole world changed with me. Or so it seems. Now, what the heck do I do? I have to sit and look at the landscape before and in me. What is it I see within and without? How do I feel? What do I want? And how to get? I am not in a hurry. I do not have to figure it all out today.

I would love to use the 4 laws of how to create good habits from James Clear’s Atomic Habits for solving everything. I like #3. Make it easy. It makes me want to start right away.

  • The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious.
  • The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive.
  • The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy.
  • The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.

Then there’s Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements. The agreements are the ways I want to live.

  1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
  2. Don’t Take Anything Personally.
  3. Don’t Make Assumptions.
  4. Always Do Your Best.

Now it’s become more obvious some of my wants and desires and the way forward. It will be worthwhile to take my time, ponder and tap out my paths. I have 26 days left in this Ultimate Blog Challenge. 26 exciting days to explore possibilities. I love that word, don’t you? It holds promises.

MAKE IT OBVIOUS

Posted on by
4

I’m using the first law outlined in James Clear’s Atomic Habits to help me lose 10 pounds. And that is make it obvious. These pictures are not pretty but it is obvious I could afford to lose a few pounds. Seeing them motivates me into action.

I had said that I was not willing to give up the evaporated milk and honey in my tea and coffee. And I really love my muffin with cheese. That was before I stepped on the scale and really looked at myself in the mirror. Now that I have, I’m changing my tune.

It’s hard to feel good about myself seeing my big belly, double chins and chubby cheeks. It was easy letting myself go to pots. 10 pounds may not seem alot but on a short person like me, it is almost a ton. Truthfully I can spare 20. I want to make it easy and not hard for myself. I’m aiming for 5 pounds by the end of this Ultimate Blog Challenge.

It’s obvious the first things to do is cut out the evaporated milk. I went back to the 2% milk. It was fine before but now not very delicious. I will try 2% evaporated milk next. I want to make it satisfying. I’m good with less honey. No more muffins for awhile. I’ve stopped baking them. Will try non sweet snacks like crackers and cheese. It is a start in the right direction.

MAKE IT EASY

Posted on by
3
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels.com

I’ve been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a very good read. I’m finding it very helpful in my mission of writing a post/day for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. If you don’t want to read the whole book, here’s a quick summary.

How to create a good habit:

  • The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious.
  • The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive.
  • The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy.
  • The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.

The 3rd law works for me. In the past, I haven’t always chose the easy route for anything. I always have to make everything complicated and hard. I’m exhausted by all that. It wasn’t very satisfying at all. Now I’m willing to try easy. Easy is attractive. In order to write a post, any post, I have to sit in front of my keyboard. That is quite obvious. It works! I sit and I tap. The letters, words and sentences come of their own accord. So far there’s no hard struggle. I should not talk too soon. I might jinx myself.

Making it easy works for other goals as well. I’ve tried it out. When I know what the goal is, I map out the simplest steps to do it. Then I follow through. It feels so easy and rewarding. Now that I’ve finished this post, I am making myself a cuppa.

WAKING UP

Posted on by
1

I have not been feeling like myself for awhile. How long I can’t tell. You know how it is when life happens and you have to respond. Things creep up and your usual self slowly erodes. Other times you get hit with a monkey wrench. You get knocked to the ground. You learn how to get up but things are never the same. You give your whole being into surviving. You live and you think you are doing hunky-dory. Then you wake up.

So this is where I am at. I’m waking up as from an enchanted sleep to find things and I have not been so hunky-dory. For one thing I’ve lost the pleasure of doing anything. I feel overwhelmed and tired just thinking about it. Perhaps that’s the thing – overthinking. The other trouble is that I’m getting more forgetful. It’s frightful – enough to wake me up to do something about it. It’s easy and comfortable to coast, to scroll and let social media and Prime Video entertain and comfort me. There’s no risk of failure or rejection. But it does kill the brain and spirit.

I’ve waken up and stepping out again into my old self. I want to be a better version, a new self. I’m finding Atomic Habits a helpful tool. I’m a self-help junkie. I have to be careful not to get addicted to just gathering self-help books and courses. I have to work it. Being only 3 days in, it is too early to brag but I have shown up every day and writing. I am exercising my dendrites to snap more efficiently. And I am starting to feel pleasure in doing again. It’s an awesome start.