On July 14, 2013 I made a commitment to write and post something to this blog every day for 365 days, and today I’ve reached a milestone: this is my 21st consecutive day of writing and posting something to this blog. According to Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect”, it takes 21 days of consistently doing a new behavior for it to become a habit, and to be successful, you must make the new habit a priority goal. I’ve made writing and posting something daily my priority goal and so far have been successful. In the beginning I had to put it on my daily calendar so that I wouldn’t forget about. Now I find that I don’t have to rely on the calendar reminder to pop up as I’m constantly thinking about what I’m going to write about. In fact, I look at all my experiences differently, as an opportunity to find something of interest to write about.
It’s been quite challenging on several days because I can very easily spend hours researching and writing about various topics. I almost completely missed posting one day because I got a late start, it was taking me much longer to research and write the topic for that day than I thought it would, and it was getting late. I seriously considered letting it go and instead writing two posts the next day. Then at around 10 pm, I thought of something I could quickly write about. I was tired and didn’t feel like writing, but then I remembered my commitment and dragged myself to my computer to write and post something that day. And I’m glad I did.
I know that I will have more days like that over the course of 365 days, and that’s ok. I know I will have to plan my writing around events, conferences, and vacations. Now that I’ve consistently written and posted something every day for the past 21 consecutive days, I’m hoping that this has become a habit for me that will make the whole process become more automatic.
Making change in your life boils down to changing your habits: eliminating bad habits and creating new habits that will bring you closer to your goal. If you can identify one small, manageable step that you can take toward reaching your goal and do it consistently for 21 days, it will become a habit and you will be well on your way toward your goal. Then repeat with another small, manageable step that you can do consistently for the next 21 days. Over the course of a year you can do this 17 times to create 17 new habits. Rather than trying to make one big change that’s not sustainable, just think about how much closer you can be toward permanently reaching your goal by consistently taking small steps!
I challenge you to prioritize a goal and do something consistently for the next 21 consecutive days toward reaching your goal. As for me, I'm going to take it one day at a time and keep writing and posting.
It’s been quite challenging on several days because I can very easily spend hours researching and writing about various topics. I almost completely missed posting one day because I got a late start, it was taking me much longer to research and write the topic for that day than I thought it would, and it was getting late. I seriously considered letting it go and instead writing two posts the next day. Then at around 10 pm, I thought of something I could quickly write about. I was tired and didn’t feel like writing, but then I remembered my commitment and dragged myself to my computer to write and post something that day. And I’m glad I did.
I know that I will have more days like that over the course of 365 days, and that’s ok. I know I will have to plan my writing around events, conferences, and vacations. Now that I’ve consistently written and posted something every day for the past 21 consecutive days, I’m hoping that this has become a habit for me that will make the whole process become more automatic.
Making change in your life boils down to changing your habits: eliminating bad habits and creating new habits that will bring you closer to your goal. If you can identify one small, manageable step that you can take toward reaching your goal and do it consistently for 21 days, it will become a habit and you will be well on your way toward your goal. Then repeat with another small, manageable step that you can do consistently for the next 21 days. Over the course of a year you can do this 17 times to create 17 new habits. Rather than trying to make one big change that’s not sustainable, just think about how much closer you can be toward permanently reaching your goal by consistently taking small steps!
I challenge you to prioritize a goal and do something consistently for the next 21 consecutive days toward reaching your goal. As for me, I'm going to take it one day at a time and keep writing and posting.
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