Intense 365 Month 10: New Year Mindset; Writing (For 10 min Daily)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Out with the Old in with the New.
New Year, New Me
As much as we know that, some of that is BS; a significant portion of it isn’t, simply because we are READY to make some kind of shift.
New Year’s typically is when most decide to make resolutions.
We want to lose weight.
We decide to up our knowledge.
We resolve to try some new things.
While this is all well, good, and admirable, we always by the next year fall off from what we said we are going to do (or if you’re like me) just forget.
Add to that I am not here to advocate for a list of changes front-loaded into the new year cause guess what? If your last year’s goal was to go to more live shows in 2020, then you, my friend, were SOL by March last year.
Instead, much like life itself, you should be flexible to change. React and plan for the reality you have now and not just wait for the perfect situation to arise. Meaning, you didn’t have to wait until the calendar switched to Jan 1 (or 4th) start making changes in your life.
I’ve been living by that motto for a while now, but for those that are new here, here’s a short backstory on Intense 365.
Intense 365 was inspired by my successful completion of the Whole 30 and listening to The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I had come to the end of my 30, “Whole 30 days”, and I was so proud of myself. I craved more of that feeling; I wanted to push myself even further and for longer, but I didn’t want to have to semi sequester myself (like I did with the Whole 30) to do it, so I crafted Intense 365.
I had learned the conventional wisdom behind habit formation was that It takes about 66 days to form a new (hopefully good) habit, but like all bell curves, it leaves out the fact it can also take up to 254 days!!
Three Hundred sixty-five days seemed like it should cover it, so I committed to a year, and off I went.
Now, me, I am in my 10th month of Intense 365, but the beauty of this program is YOU don’t have to be.
You can start today and follow your own path because the truth is we all already are.
So how does one do that, you ask?
Well, it’s simple, really; here are the rules:
1. Pick something you want to work on. Anything.
2. Do the thing all month long.
3. Next month, pick a new thing.
4. Do that new thing AND the thing you did before.
5. Repeat
Easy
There you have it, that’s it, pretty easy (in some regards), but here is the hard part you gotta remember: the first thing you choose to work on will be the thing you do the longest. The goal you choose in month one will BE the thing you do for 365 days, so start with a small and manageable goal.
It should also be something you really want to change in your life because this one will take hold if you work at it, so make it count.
The action I’m deciding to take in my 10th month is just as valid in your first, so if you want a partner in this journey, you got one in me.
This month I am committing to write for 10 min a day.
Nothing can help to get your thoughts in order more than putting pen to paper. Moreover, after the year we just had, I’m guessing you have a lot on your mind. Plenty of things happened to us last year, but now may be the time to start articulating to ourselves what we still have the power to control.
Speaking of control, again, you don’t have to make this the first thing YOU do. Perhaps you want to start waking up an hour earlier (a decent primer) or jump into a fitness or health program first; if you’re ready, then go for it! Maybe, 10min seems a bit long, and you have barely written anything down since grade school; also, cool, make it 5min.
The point is to
GET STARTED,
MAKE IT MANAGEABLE, and make it something to help
YOUR life.
Just cause we are on the same track doesn’t mean we are in the same race, but it’s always nice to have more of us out there.
Seriously have you been to a track meet, though? There is like a ton going on!
If you are writing along with me, I encourage you to think about some things you want to change or accomplish or do in the next couple of months and write them down and reflect on them.
You can also write it down and walk away from it.
Whatever you do, this process will inevitably lead you to what you want to work on next.
Good luck, enjoy basking in the “New Year Glow,” and beginning a path to YOUR version of greatness.
If you are starting today, great! Here are the rules again:
If you want to read more about the journey that got me to the 10th month, you can start back here for some inspo.
Regardless of what you choose to do,
CHOOSE to DO.
That is something I can guarantee you won’t regret.
Fin