Forming Habits – Part 3

So I’ve hit a snag in my plan to hack my life with my simple 6 step program. It is a lot easier to drop a bad habit than it is to pick up a good one. Take for instance my current project, meditating everyday, not going so well. I’ve done it one and a half times since I started it on January 15th. That isn’t very good. That is terrible! Why the difficulty? Well, the goal isn’t as simple as it sounds at first. Meditate, that’s easy enough, right? Nope, I don’t have a set time I wake up every morning, so there isn’t a set time for me to do meditation in the morning. There is a new goal right there! Before I can make meditating a habit I have to make getting up at the same time a each day a habit, this isn’t such a bad thing as I’m going into a new job that will require me to be at work the same time everyday (and it isn’t late in the afternoon 😛 ). I also live with other people who wake up at different times than me and have different schedules it can be difficult to meditate then. I’m not giving up and I’m not complaining! I just need to re-think this and come back at it again from a new angle, or perhaps set up a decent sleep schedule (Diana will be happy 😀 ).  Just like I said in the original post the important thing is to not give up!

Author: Jonathon

Would rather be out swimming, running, or camping. Works in state government. Spent a youth reading genre-fiction; today, he is making up for it by reading large quantities of non-fiction literature. The fact that truth, in every way, is more fascinating than fiction still tickles him.

2 thoughts on “Forming Habits – Part 3”

  1. Meditation is one of the best “non-activities” I have ever “not done” :). I’ve found certain things more helpful than others. I usually have a visualization “goal” that I’m working on. I focus completely on that one thing and it helps me to focus throughout the day. However, if I’m just being…”mindful” I usually focus on my breathing. Even counting the number of breaths I take initially can be really effective at diffusing distractions.

    When I do yoga, I usually end with a lying pose called “corpse pose” which more or less requires you to shift from focusing on your body to focusing on the “spaciousness” around you. I have to admit though, it takes extreme effort to recognize anything other than yourself when you’re stressed. This is the main reason I usually begin by focusing on the number of breaths I take or something else very, very simple and repetitive.

    Good Luck!

  2. Rick,

    Didn’t know you meditated or did yoga? You do remember you’re Christian right? 😛 Anyway thanks for the advice. Keep in touch!

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