Can You Establish A Habit? Or Do You Make Excuses?

Last night, I read Annette Gendler's blog post on taking walks. It made me admire her, made me feel more than a little guilty and also gave me some impetus to get back to regular walking for exercise. 

For several years, I walked on a regular basis. I started when my doctor recommended that I try it to lower my blood pressure and to ease some of the arthritis misery I'd been having. It wasn't easy to establish the habit, but when I did, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed my walks. In the spring and summer, I walked early in the morning and switched to afternoons the other two seasons of the year. Even those winter walks became a pleasure if I dressed in the proper attire. If ice and snow made the walks too treacherous, I drove to the mall and walked inside. I didn't like it nearly as well but it kept the habit going. 

I found that those solitary walks provided me with time to consider new story ideas. For some reason, they popped into my mind as I walked along the wooded trail not far from our house, much more easily than when I sat staring at my computer screen. 

Many days, I spent time counting my blessings as I placed one foot in front of the other for about 45 minutes. Nothing is so spirit lifting as realizing how many truly good things there are in one's life. If I had a problem of some kind, the walking time allowed me to consider it from several angles and to sort it out. I also liked hearing birds trill, the stages of the trees and flowers along the walking trail and the sky that treated me to a new look every day.

I stopped walking when I had some health problems that made if difficult. Once the habit is broken, it's not so easy to get it back.Then came a time that I knew I needed to establish the habit again.  I thought about it many times but I managed to assemble a long list of reasons that I wouldn't walk that day. I'd do it for 2 or 3 days in a row and enjoy it. Then, I'd miss a couple days and start in with the excuses again.I became an expert at finding reasons not to walk. Now, it's been longer than I even want to admit. 

I know I'd feel better. I know that regular exercise is beneficial. I know that I might lose a pound or two if I start walking regularly. I know that it takes discipline to establish the habit once again. I don't want to wait and make it a New Year's Resolution. Instead, I'm going to try short walks to begin with and hope to work up to 45 minutes once again. This is probably a bad week to begin because arctic air is to keep us in its grip from Tuesday into the early part of next week. It could be a good excuse to wait and begin the following week, but....

We get away from writing on a regular basis sometimes, too. If we write a little every day, we've established a habit. It needn't be hours worth. Twenty minutes will do. One of the reasons I started this blog was to make myself write something five days a week. The more I did it, the easier it became. Stop writing for a week or two and guess what happens? It's a whole lot easier not to write on week 3 or 4 or 5 or... Have you ever said to yourself I've got to get back to writing? I think we've all done so at some time in our writing life. 

It's hard work to establish a habit. It doesn't always happen in a flash. We need a goal. We need discipline. We need determination. We need to see the benefit it will bring to us. 

So how about it? Do you have something you want to do on a regular basis but haven't accomplished it yet? I'm going to work on getting that daily walk back into my life. If I miss a day, or even two, I'm not going to talk myself out of walking the next day. 

A Writer's Walk

This morning, I rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes and headed outside to walk. The 'suddenly summer' weather means my walks must be taken early in the day.

It was only 71 degrees but humid and with very little breeze. I was stiff this morning as I often am, thanks to Mr. Arthritis who visits me in the early hours of the day.

I headed to the walking trail not far from our house. It's a nice place to exercise with the backyards of homes on either side. Lots of trees, shrubs and flower beds to catch the eye. Birdsong usually keeps me company. I've been trying to get the walking habit back after a long hiatus. Need to shed about six pounds that has a death grip on my hips and also on doctor's orders to get moving to get my blood pressure down a little, too.

When you ache, it's hard to keep those feet moving. Before I'd gotten halfway on my usual route, I was ready to quit, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I looked ahead at the upward incline and the long way to the turning point. I didn't want to keep going. Each move hurt, but I kept on. I knew that each step was getting me closer to the place where I could turn and head toward home. Home was where my chair, the newspaper and a cup of coffee waited for me. A worthy goal!

When I made the turn and headed back toward home, the steps didn't seem quite so bad. Then, I started getting a little of breath. It takes awhile to get back into the walking for exercise habit. I started to sweat and my hips were crying for some relief. But I put one foot in front of the other and kept moving. Before long, I could see my house and my steps quickened. I could almost smell the coffee!

My writer's journey has been much the same way. I've had goals in my writing world and I've tried to reach them one step at a time. I've met obstacles along the way but I've made progress, even if it seems to come slowly at times. It's not so hard if you keep on putting one foot in front of the other.