Always Rushin: Building Habits (Lockdown Day 418)

Typed on Monday, 17 May 2021

20h11

LOADSHEDDING

Tonight we have loadshedding from 20h00 – 22h30, so I prepared for the darkness by lining up some creature comforts to make myself feel better. I had a soak in a hot, fragrant bath, got dressed as warmly as I could (Cape Town’s winter is here), made myself a cup of chamomile tea and made sure I had some of my favourite music downloaded on Spotify. Before that, I’d made sure the laptop and the LED lamps were charged.

So here I am, with a lamp providing much-needed light, my tea next to me, and one of my favourite albums playing on my phone – Unydos, by the guitar duo of James Grace and Morgan Szymanski. The track playing now is Bolinhas de Queijo (Imagens do Nordeste), by Celso Machado.

Source: Google Images

JAMES CLEAR: ATOMIC HABITS

For quite a few months (or years?) I’ve been receiving the weekly emails of James Clear, author of the book, Atomic Habits. I’ve just started reading the book, but have been watching Youtube videos of his for a while and been profoundly affected by his teachings - he focuses on how to build good habits and shed bad ones. Fascinating. In essence, what he teaches is largely common sense, but it’s the way he puts things across that makes what he says so jaw-droppingly inspiring.

A few things that really stuck out, for me were (paraphrased):

- Having goals is not going to make you succeed – it’s the ACTION you take that will get you to where you want to be.

- After you’ve written your goal down, give it specific space in your life – commit to taking ACTION on a specific DAY, at a specific TIME and in a specific PLACE. (THIS one was life-altering for me.)

- If you commit to small ACTIONS and DO them consistently, you will steadily improve, see results, be inspired, gain momentum and experience a compounding of all your little successes.

- Building good habits is not about getting better at DOING something, but about becoming a different person – changing your IDENTITY.

- He says that every time you do an action that is a good habit you’re cultivating, you are casting a vote for your future self. 😊

Source: Google Images

HABIT TRACKER

For the past 12 weeks, I’ve worked with a habit tracker. I draw it up as a table, once a week, and tick off my goals at the end of every day. I actually started 12 weeks earlier, kept it going for 9 weeks, but then stopped for 3 weeks. Then I got more hooked on the James Clear material, did some reflection and analysis of my lifestyle, and started taking the topic of habits a lot more seriously. Basically, if I apply myself half-heartedly, my results will show it. If I apply myself in a focussed, intentional way, my progress will reflect that.

After quite a few weeks, I did another reflection session on my habit tracker results. The truth stared me in the face: the habits I ticked off every single day were the ones I enjoyed or were part of a bigger picture that was very important to me. I needed to find ways to make the other daily goals either more enjoyable or more clearly defined as crucial to the bigger picture of my life (how the daily habits fitted into my long-term goals).

EXERCISE

One area where I’ve started applying the James Clear teachings is in my exercise life. I started working with a trainer in October last year, but since mid-March, I’ve been taking training a lot more seriously, working out three times a week. I train in a small group, but occasionally do a one-on-one session. Some days, I get into my exercise clothes, drive down to the field and walk-run on my own. The most interesting thing is that, as my body responds and my fitness increases, I’m enjoying training more and more. I can’t believe I’m someone who looks forward to exercising. My goal is no longer to just work out three times a week, but to do a sweat-breaking, capacity-stretching, full-body workout three times a week. I’ve rediscovered my love for running and am seeing exciting progress there, as well. With the seasons changing, the sun sets earlier and we do the latter half of our training session in the dark. I love running in the dark. The cool air is a divine energy boost and I’ve always found night time magical.

The field where I train - this was taken in April.

FACEBOOK MUSICIAN PAGE

At the beginning of May, I decided that another area of my life that required more effort from me was my Facebook musician page. I brainstormed different types of posts I could do and drew up a one-month plan, committing to posting twice every week – on Mondays and Thursdays. So far, so good. Another example of small, consistent steps. Fascinating to watch the response. Basically – no effort on my part, no response from the public. However, I’ve seen that small, consistent steps on my part have yielded quite a lot of interest from the public. Interesting.

Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/Trudy-Rushin-Singer-Songwriter-345091698939418

Trudy - Feb 2019, by Jeffrey Abrahams

CROCHETING

I’ve continued crocheting and am currently busy on my 9^th blanket since March 2020. I’ve completed two that were commissioned, where I was able to earn a bit for creating them, and this is my third. Crocheting has become part of my daily routine. Making blankets is a good metaphor for life and all the other habits I’m cultivating: I crochet one stitch at a time and before I know it, I’ve completed a row. I keep focussing on completing one row at a time, and before I know it, I’ve created a whole blanket. I love every aspect of making blankets: the conversation about the colours, buying the wool, starting, working on it for weeks and weeks, finishing it off with the border, then getting it to its owner. Before I hand over the blanket, I wash it, which brings out the texture and warmth of the wool. I love this hobby of mine! I love the fact that something I find so enjoyable results in an attractive and functional item that can add comfort to someone’s life for years and years. I love it!