Routines – welcome the pain with smile

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.
Mike Murdock

Routines. I have written and posted numerous articles about them but they never stop to fascinate me. The idea to start with something new, work on it regularly, rigorously, see the pain, see the slowness of the process, feeling the absolute incompetence when you are starting. You should love these moments, because it can only get better! People usually give up after few try’s. Few try’s never get anyone far. So grow a pair and when you build new routine, love those first steps. Here is how I do it:

1. Start slow – setup something easy you can start following. Dont be hard on yourself from day one
2. Build trigger – specific time, action, sound … whatever. Align the activity in your consciousness to specific action.
3. Define process. Be specific with what you wanna achieve – have milestones defined from different angles – don’t just say I ll run 5000km under 15minutes. Say: I ll run 5000km, I ll breath, I ll smile, I ll sprint in those 5000km, I ll not fall, I ll go slow at start, I ll speed up at the end. Then, when evaluating, evaluate all of those attributes, and remember – focus on positive outcome.
4. Set-up evaluation time – once a week or daily, evaluate your progress with open and positive attitude. In other words, look at what is the minimum you feel that was improved. Primarily, look for positives, not negatives in what you trying to improve in.
5. Appreciate the time it takes. Think about that time. Welcome the pain it takes to learn.
6. Smile when you do i
7. Be a hero – stand like a hero when you are done

Good luck and remember,

Tomorrow, you can be better then you are today.

Lechiffre