I turned 24 on Friday the week before last and in a flurry of dog sitting Nena the burrower, usual suspect pup walking, beginning a new job, celebrating via brunching, vegan cake and soy ice cream devouring, and relishing in warm wishes from friends and family, I did not take much time to reflect on the last year and to meditate on this one to come.
In my first post graduate year, I fell out of a lot of habits that I took for granted; habits I earnestly believed were natural, innate things that I just did and enjoyed. I thought that I woke up at the crack of dawn, I loved running 40 miles/week, and that I devoured books because "hey, that's what I do" and because my body wouldn't have it any other way.
One year later, I'm finally realizing these weren't inherent things. I had built my affinity for running, my morning person cheeriness, and my propensity for planned or on a whim productivity. I had, very unknowingly, created habits. And I slowly, but oh so surely, let them slip in a frustratingly rocky year.
This new year and this fresh start has me optimistic and, likely more importantly, determined. I was happiest when I had a more active lifestyle, when I woke with the birdies, and when I knew how to not just start a project or a nine hundred page book, but also how to finish it. Here's to a new year, to really pushing myself, to reconstructing old habits, and to welcoming the possibility of building new ones.
And since I'm not (yet) the expert on habit building here are some resources that I've found both informative and inspiring:
How I began changing my life one habit at a time
from No Meat Athlete
How to fail at habits
from Zen Habits
How far can you go?
from Lazy Girl Running
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Business and Life
a book by Charles Duhigg
Eat and Run
a book by Scott Jurek
Happy (belated) birthday! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie!!
DeleteHappy Birthday! It's so true that once school is out, suddenly life takes on a very different form. It's almost startling how much I thought I "knew" about myself only to have it change after I graduated. In fact, 4 years out, it still feels like it changes again every few months. Take comfort in the fact that change is inevitable for growing and learning, so while it's awkward, you're always better off on the other side :-) I will be reading some of those links, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah! And thank you for your words on post-school life, habits, growing, learning... I feel like I had hacked life while I was in school, and now I'm just a newbie! So, I truly truly appreciate your insight!!
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