How Did I Break My Good Habits?
I started an ‘Atomic Habits’ journey a while back. What happened?
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On August 25, 2021, I wrote an article about my experience after reading James Clear’s Atomic Habits. A book that was seriously life changing. I downloaded the free Habit Tracker Templates and picked at least three things I wanted to change bit by bit and…it worked!
Have those habits stuck with me, though?
Nope.
Lately, I’ve wondered why. If the book was so good and I had a great start in 2021, what halted my progress for all of 2022?
I reflected on some probable reasons. Maybe you can relate.
I didn’t have long range goals
One of my goals was to meditate for thirty days.
Only. Thirty. Days.
When that thirty day was up, I was done. Fini. I did not go back to it, yet I rejoiced over completing what I could. James Clear explains that missing a day or two is normal, but truly, missing one day of your good habit streak is more than enough missed time. Don’t make it a habit of breaking good habits.
Another of my goals, that I highlighted in my previous article, was to get to bed on time. This should have been a long range goal because going to bed is essential to healthy living — so is meditation, but specifically sleeping and getting the right amounts of sleep is so important.
For thirty days, instead of going to bed at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., like I normally would, I tried the atomic habit of just going to bed at 11pm. Still late, but I made sure to only use my cell phone in the living room area and keep the bedroom clear of electronics like laptops, tablets, etc.
The bedroom is for sleeping. Having a book or two in there is fine.
