Forming good habits:

This month, the book I’ve chosen to focus on is ‘Atomic Habits’. I thought the book was a good 10 or so years old, so I was surprised to learn it was published in October 2018. James Clear writes clearly about how to make habits stick. Make it clear; obvious; gratifying.

I chose my own daily habits. They weren’t big huge ones, they weren’t goal orientated - they were just simple things I forgot to do when I was chasing bigger dreams.

• Take vitamins;
• Yoga;
• Positive affirmations, meditation and journalling
• Reading
• Exercise
• Learning languages
• Writing ‘Summer Broken’.

I started on a cold day in December. My starting point was three meagre stretches, the two vitamins I could stomach, and a page of my book.

At first, it’s not about what you actually get done. It’s about being the kind of person who does yoga every day. It’s about the formation of an identity. James Clear described how one of his readers got started by going to the gym six days a week, for just 10 minutes. The primary object wasn’t to get fit, not at first anyway - it was to become the sort of person who goes to the gym every day.

What I’ve noticed, is this: when you start a habit, your senses are on fire. You’re wary of every wrong step you make. How silly you must look not knowing the way to the gym. What is that person thinking about you? How unfamiliar it all feels.

I found that the more ‘looking stupid’ is practised, when an activity is treated as no longer an option but something that I get up and do every day, I no longer need to think about it. It’s done before I know it.