Tag Archives: habits

Nov 23

Habit Reformation

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Whether or not we recognize it, we build habits. We get into routines & methods for how we do things. Wake up, brush teeth, run a mile, eat oatmeal for breakfast, is an example of a morning pattern that becomes routine, a habit. Habits make life easier. We give less though to what we do when it’s ingrained in us from habitual repition. For instance, in the previous example, if I have oatmeal every day for breakfast then I don’t need to give much thought what to make for breakfast. Habits save our minds some time.

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball & our routines are broken.

Example: I used to eat an apple & Luna bar every day after school. Religiously. Ask my mom, as she is the most direct witness. At the time I was a vegetarian, so I was already limited in what to eat in the snack department. Then, after a series of feeling awful, doctor visits, tests & trials, I learned that wheat, dairy, soy, & corn were making me feel awful. Whoa! That was the majority of what I was eating…and my habit of eating a Luna bar & apple every day after school was instantly broken. It needed to be in order for me to feel better. Habit broken. Found new snacks & foods that were best for my body. New habit reformed.

Red Apple. Used white paper behind apple and a...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?! Not if you eat it with a Luna Bar when your body can’t digest wheat, dairy, soy, corn.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

More recent example: About a month ago I had an emergency surgery, requiring me to avoid strenuous physical activity & lifting anything more than 10 pounds for 4-6 weeks. At this point I was 6 months into crossfit, working out 6 days a week, the strongest I have ever been, & eager to beat my alarm up for an AM crossfit session. From 6 days a week of intense workouts to nothing. Ouch! That was more painful than the surgery. No longer would I be getting up before dawn to go to the gym. Habit broken. Replaced that time with other morning activities, like writing, reading, or sleeping. New habit reformed.

Since I am 4 weeks into my recovery period, I’m starting to ease into picking up my physical activity. I want to reform my habit of getting up before dawn each morning to go to the gym for an intense workout. It won’t be easy. It took me 6 months to get where I was. What I do know is that it will be challenging. It will be a journey. It will build character & test my discipline & drive. I’m looking forward to this!

Stay tuned for more to come from my habit reformation process…

Venture on,

mel, the Venture Gal

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Aug 31

What Are You Grateful For?

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I can’t think of a better question to close out “Ask & Answer Questions” in August.  This week I participated in BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits program & one of my Tiny Habits I committed to was to say something I am grateful for after starting my car.  Though I didn’t always remember to say something I am grateful for immediately after starting my car (usually it was 5-10 minutes into my drive that it hit me) I did mention something I am grateful for at least once a day

Ironically, James Altucher also poised the question today in his blog.  It’s an important question and answering it this week was a pleasant reminder of how blessed I am.

What am I grateful for?  So much!  The things I recited this week during my Tiny Habits venture include:

  • I am grateful for a loving family & friends.
  • I am grateful for nature.
  • I am grateful for good health.
  • I am grateful for opportunities.
  • I am grateful for knowledge.

I’m grateful for these two cuties! My cousin’s kids…part of the loving family I am so grateful for!

What are you grateful for?

Venture on,

mel, the venture gal

 

Jul 25

The 21st Day

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Research shows that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit.

Though I don’t agree that it always takes 21 days to make or break a habit, today was my 21st day at Hyperfit Crossfit gym. (Note: I did go to another Crossfit gym twice when traveling, so technically I have made 23 Crossfit workouts).

Did session 21 feel any different than session 20?  Not really.

Did session 21 feel any different than session 2?  Definitely.  I feel stronger.  I am stronger.  It’s measurable.  I got a PR (personal record) in the dead lift & over head squat this week.  On my 10th session I beat the time from my 1st session by over one minute.

Just because I have been to Hyperfit 21 times I do not feel like I magically have a new habit because I went 21 times.  After the first session I was all in – I knew I’d be there multiple times a week.  I didn’t feel like day 21 made me feel anymore committed.  I was just as committed after day 1.

Not all habits “click” & take less than 21 days to form, but for the ones that do, perhaps that habit is more than a habit…it could be related to an interest or passion.  I do believe that habits are fundamental in creating change.  It doesn’t necessarily need to take 21 days in order to form that habit though. Depends on you & depends on the habit.  So is 21 really that magic of a number? 

Inspiration on the WOD board at Hyperfit.

venture on,

mel, the venture gal

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Oct 16

No News for a Week

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This past week I decided to ignore my Google Reader RSS feed.  That’s right.  No news.  For an entire week.  Mostly this was an experiment in productivity and time management.  Though I don’t spend tons of time reading the news, I find it to be distracting.  Especially since I use an RSS feed, reading the news becomes a game in a sense. Whenever I see a new article I must clear it out.

I have set up my RSS feed so to make it quicker to skim through headlines and then just self select articles I’d like to dig into deeper.

This week was different though.  I didn’t visit my Google Reader.  I didn’t read the WSJ.  Guess what?!  The world didn’t end.  I may not know every company that received funding this week and what their valuation was via TechCrunch or Mashable.  Or news about acquisition announcements.  I survived.  The only news I consumed was that which was shared by others.  I got the idea to go on a “news diet” from Tim Ferris’ book The 4 Hour Work Week.  My life is just fine without reading the news every day.

Now, the stack of WSJ are still in my office.  And the unread articles in my Google Reader did not just magically disappear.  Will I press the “Mark all as Read?” and start back at the present with my news reader?  Or will I play catch up with all I missed out on last week? I’ll probably catch up on a few things, but mostly I will just forgo that week of news.

This is a great example of an experiment with habit changes.  It can be daunting and difficult to imagine a new routine or go cold turkey with something you do everyday.  I enjoy reading the news, and don’t think I need to go cold turkey all the time.  But I can cut out the RSS game and read through to stay in the loop…making sure I know when some folks with an idea on a napkin raise $30 million with an absurdly high valuation.

Venture on.  Venture on,

Venture Gal