And because I’ve been planning for days like this, I knew exactly what to do.
Today that was MoveMe Weekly, short walk, foam rolling, and this email.
I cancelled everything else and have been heavy sleeping, drinking as many fluids as I can manage, and vegetating on the couch.
Healing is my top priority. And if I can keep the streak alive in some of my other priority areas… by doing my premeditated minimum viable action(s)… I won’t have to “heal” any broken streaked habits, too.
One of my goals this year is to write one long(er) form article each week that I can either publish to MoveMe Quotes (to help with SEO) or submit to brand/magazine publications (to help spread my words to new audiences).
The first four weeks, I did just that.
The past two weeks, however, I failed.
I got caught up writing an article that I just couldn’t finish. And I let it stall me out.
This is how it goes for so many who are working hard to integrate resolutions into their lifestyle. Strong start followed by legit obstacle followed by stall out.
…But what stall outs really are are moments of truth.
…And it’s how we choose to respond to these moments that makes all the long-term difference.
Either we let the stall stall us all the way out… or we figure out a way to keep moving forward despite the stall out(s).
And so this week, I decided to pivot. Rather than try and submit longer form articles to other brand/magazine publications—I’m going to double down on publishing new articles each week to MoveMe Quotes.
Publishing to MMQ is inside my control and much more efficient whereas getting published elsewhere is not and was taking too much of my time. And while SEO might not be as “sexy” as getting published elsewhere—it’s the process of producing that’s most important.
Onward.
Your Turn: How are your resolutions going? If not so good, how can you pivot to get back on track… this is your moment of truth… how can you move forward with (and build) resilience?
Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show this past week.
And in the midst of a grim upcoming U.S. Presidential Election delivered a timely message that, at least for me, shined a light back to where the light should always be shined—especially during times when you can be made to feel small and powerless.
And it’s that very message that I felt compelled to share with you today.
“[Marketing for the U.S. Presidential Election] is going to make you feel like Tuesday, November 5, is the only day that matters. And that day does matter. But, man, November 6 ain’t nothing to sneeze at—or November 7. If your guy loses, bad things might happen. But the country is not over. And if your guy wins, the country is in no way saved. I’ve learned one thing over these last nine years. And I was glib at best and probably dismissive at worst about this. The work of making this world resemble one that you would prefer to live in is a lunch pail [bleep] job, day in and day out, where thousands of committed, anonymous, smart, and dedicated people bang on closed doors and pick up those that are fallen and grind away on issues till they get a positive result. And even then, have to stay on to make sure that result holds. So the good news is I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about who wins the election. I’m saying you have to worry about every day before it and every day after—forever.”
Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
P.s. You can watch his full 20 minute monologue here.
I had a lot to do today.
…And I took my time doing it.
And it was this one simple mindset that made all the difference.
…Because I’ve lived this day before.
I’ve had “the lot” to do and seemingly not enough time to get it all done and guess what…?
It stressed me the hell out every time.
And by the time I make it out on the other side of my “lot” it feels like the day is gone and I didn’t get to enjoy enough/any of it.
But what I’m slowly learning… what I keep reminding myself… what has been a re-occuring mantra in my head is: there’s always going to be a lot to do.
The key isn’t to try and get it all done as fast as possible… it’s to find ways to bring more joy and presence to the doing of those very things that you’re choosing to spend your life’s time doing.
…And one of the best ways I’ve found to do that is to take your damn time doing it all.
P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.
A friend of mine donates blood religiously.
It’s integrated into his lifestyle and it’s one of the ways he gives back.
And given that it can save up to three lives in about a one hour time commitment… it’s relatively an easy thing to do.
I don’t donate as frequently as he does, and it has probably been a year since I donated last… but I just scheduled my next appointment and I plan to make it a bi-monthly occurrence.
It was one of those reminders, at least it was for me, that the biggest, most grandiose plan(s) to change the world mean nothing compared to even the smallest of actions.
Below a screenshot of my cell phone’s home screen (here’s the link if it doesn’t show):
…See that big ol’ Screen Time block at the bottom?
That’s an intentional effort of mine to increase my screen time awareness so that I can deliberately work to decrease my screen time usage.
Before, I would get one push notification each week summarizing my screen time averages—but it was after the fact... after the usage was done and all I could hope to do was be more aware the next week so as to reduce it before the next push notification was sent out.
And, as you might expect, this strategy didn’t really change much week to week.
But, ever since I added that big ‘ol Screen Time block to the bottom of my home screen, my screen time has dropped remarkably.
…And it’s all because I’m getting reminders before the fact.
Seth Godin once said that the best way to make any long term change is with enough short term feedback.
Most of what we do every day is already programmed into our lifestyle as habits. If we want to change that unconscious programming… we need to deliberately and proactively and creatively find ways to consciously remind ourselves to do those new things that go against our current unconscious programming.
Otherwise, the programming will prevail and we’ll keep looking back—after the fact—wondering why the heck nothing is changing.
P.s. Need help programming new habits into your life? My 30 day guide will help. Details here.