H for Habit

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! You can visit the Home Page HERE.

Today I'm going to talk about developing a habit. Be it writing every day, exercising, doing your daily chores or all of the above! Whatever your goal, you can develop a definite pattern or habit to make your idea blossom into a reality.

About a year ago, I was writing hit or miss and never really finishing anything I started. Then, I made a commitment to myself that I would write every day without fail, no matter how much or how little I wrote. But it had to be every day. I did not punish myself if I only wrote a few words, but what I found was that as the days flew by, I woke up looking forward to my time at my computer (or on paper) and I began fighting to keeping that time to myself open. It was MY time.

I look back now and see that I watch much less television and I read more and I write usually 1000 words a day. I find that the days I don't get to write (which are very few) I feel like something is missing. I haven't had my daily fix. My habit needs to be satisfied.

How to create your habit: commitment. Start out with a set period of time ... say, six weeks and commit to yourself that you will do your writing or exercise, etc. for that period of time. Check it off on your calendar or make a chart if you need to. And follow through. Even if you can't write 1000 words each day or exercise the entire 30 minutes, do something each day. Be positive and don't beat yourself over the head if you miss one day. Continue on the next day.

You'll find that after two or three weeks your activity will start to feel natural and more a part of your daily routine. It will be a habit. You'll be able to smile and feel better about yourself, because you have succeeded!