Slow and steady wins the race.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Cliches? Yes, but reminders that are needed none the less!
All of us take a lot of decisions in our lives and a lot of them don't follow through. Let me remind you of your 2019 resolutions so that you can relate. Chances are that out of the 10 resolutions that you made, barely 2-3 are still evident in your routine by the end of May.
Here's why:
Whenever we are on the peak of our motivation we tend to day dream about our ideal selves and delegate tasks to our selves according to the capacity of that ideal self. However we don't live up to that ideal image every single day and it is quite natural. But what's unnatural is the burden we've put on ourselves in the form of these resolutions and decisions we've taken.
"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to work out for 2 hours everyday, I need those abs soon."
"I'm going to study for 6 hours everyday, from tomorrow and ace my exams this year."
"I'm going to start dieting tomorrow onwards and eat nothing but greens."
However inspiring and amazing these decisions might sound, the problem is that they are ideal and too fast for us to process. Decisions that are fast, sudden, hasty and impromptu work out only for the short term most of the times. In the long run, they are not going to be as effective.
Why wouldn't we all be eating Maggi everyday otherwise? Takes only 2 mins to cook right?
But even we know that mum's a-little-slower-cooked dal and rice is the real deal.
Remember that wild night with your friends that was a very sudden, last minute plan and it turned out to be the most epic night of your life? Yes exactly. It worked out because you did it once. And because those decisions were likely to work out for a short term.
That's what fast is for. The thrill, the adrenaline, the energy. And these things are meant to have a short life. God knows we'd all go crazy otherwise.
But mistakenly, we tend to apply these to the decisions that involve long term commitments. Habits, lifestyle changes, improvement, growth - all of these demand slow, intentional, steady and consistent actions. That's when they thrive. And in the heat of the moment we forget that. We want that perfect body, that success, that fame in an instant but if we want these things to last, it really is going to be long, hard process my friend.
The best way to apply these changes to our lives is hence, transitioning into them.
While going from 0 to 100, it's necessary that we go 1, 2, 3, 4.......100. Because that way, we've gotten better along the way; we have been through the necessary challenges. Otherwise, had we directly landed onto 100, we wouldn't have been able to cope up with that 100% increase in the level of challege right? And all that would be lost.
Hence, one step at a time.
It helps us adapt.
It helps us ease into it.
It helps the habit to stick.
The next tip is to do it slowly and steadily. Yes, just like the tortoise from the race. These things have been told to us since the very beginning, you know. Because of slow and steady these habits become natural to us, they become a part of us. There's consistency in our actions.
Whether these habits are waking up early, working out, eating better or adopting a better lifestyle in general, slow and steadily definitely helps.
So when starting something new, start slow. 5 mins today, 10 mins for the next week. 15 mins next and so on. So that you give your mind and body the time to accept this change. You'll be more likely to stick to that habit when you're considerate of yourself.
Before this post gets too long, I want to conclude by reminding that transitioning is always a better choice if you want your decisions to reflect in your lifestyle. That way, you'll form habits that stick better, and you'll feel great about yourself.
I hope you have fun transitioning into whatever you choose to!
Sending you love and light.