The Habit Expert
I started following James Clear many years ago when he wrote more about weight training, travel, and photography than habits. Then he published his book “Atomic Habits” which became an International bestseller and catapulted him to success as an author and thought leader. A measure of his success is the 2 million subscribers who get his weekly newsletter.
Habits do drive results. Bad habits get us in trouble and good ones help us improve our health, be more productive and get stuff done.
I know that over the years, I have picked up many bad habits. Some emerging bad habits were snuffed out by an eagle-eyed mother during my childhood and teenage years. Swearing in front of women or older people, elbows on the table, and dirty clothes on bedroom floors were all dealt with sharply and effectively before they could become fully-fledged habits.
Good Habits
My parents did manage to get me to form some good habits. Healthy eating, exercising, and finishing tasks, among them.
In my 30s and 40s, in South Africa, I developed the habit of running 6 days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday in the early mornings before sunrise. Running races on Sundays. Once the routine became a habit, I got up and ran no matter how late at night I had got to bed, no matter if I was tired or if it was cold
After years of running, my knees told me it was time to stop running marathons. A move to another country and another life as a farmer needed new habits. The early mornings were devoted to organizing the work on the farm. Exercise came from riding horses in the late afternoon and playing our sport of Polo-Crosse on weekends for half the year.
Another Move, Another Country,
An involuntary move. The result of chaos in Zimbabwe, traumatic and difficult. Another life and a change in habits. First adjusting to being a farm worker instead of a farm owner – a huge adjustment. New habits quickly formed for new situations. No need for exercise habits, just getting through the physical demands of the day was exercise enough.
A heart attack brought the farm work to an end.
The old habits helped me take regular walks after the heart attack and again seven years later after bypass surgery. Daily walking got me fit and healthy enough to walk 250 km (150 miles) on the Camino de Santiago in 2019. The exercise habit became unbreakable except on the worst winter days with sub -20C temperatures. The habit became so strong that out of frustration at the lockdown in 2020, I set a goal of walking for 100 consecutive days, then 200 and finally making 369 – a whole year without missing a day. Was it the goal or the habit that got me there?
Probably both.
Broken Habits Are Hard To Fix
In late November 2022, I got the flu, and winter had set in. I decided to stop walking temporarily until I felt better. I developed a persistent cough. It got colder. It snowed quite often in the morning. The morning walk was no longer a habit. I walked later in the day a few times in December and January but not every morning. The good habit was broken and the bad habit of hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock took over. The weather got worse in February, cold dark mornings and snow-covered roads made it easier to stick to the bad habit.
Not a big improvement in March.
Then in April, I was feeling guilty. I walked twice in the morning during the first week. On Monday morning two weeks ago I didn’t hit the snooze button, I got up when I should and walked. The same the following day and then every weekday.
Getting back into a good habit is as easy as getting out of it.
You just have to do it and do it again. The habit takes over. You feel better about yourself.
How do you keep the good habits and break the bad ones?
Leave a comment.
p.s We had some interesting guests on The Yakking Show this week and more will be coming soon. I wrote about them in this post
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