As anyone who read my blog last week knows, I completely failed with my habit of trying to get to sleep early every night. I ended up going to bed really late, getting up really early, and just feeling very tired in general. This week, instead of trying to get to bed by a certain time, I aimed instead to wake up every morning by 7 AM. I am happy to report that I was very successful with this new goal! While getting up early was a little bit difficult, it gave me lots of time to do other productive things (like go running). All in all, this week was quite a success! My habit of daily running (which I started in week 1 of this blog) is going well; I find that I can run farther, longer, and faster, and I feel more energized and clear headed after a good run.
Unfortunately, this week I have been struggling with the problem of self motivation. As I was trying to think of another habit to pursue next week, I was having trouble finding a habit that I felt passionate and motivated about. One of the most crucial aspects of forming a new habit is being able to motivate yourself and see the long term goals and benefits of that habit. I had a hard time seeing the long term benefits of rising early when I was warm and cozy in my bed at 7:00 AM. However, through the use of websites (Zen Habits OF COURSE), podcasts, and awesome pump up music, I think that I have been able to successfully motivate myself.
After some reflection, I have decided not to form a new habit next week, but to break an old one. As I’m sure most of you know, Penn State Dining has amazing homemade cookies. Ever since arriving on campus, I have indulged in a delicious gooey West cookie almost every day. While they are undeniably yummy, cookies are not conducive to healthy eating. Therefore, this week I am going to make an effort not to eat as many cookies. I won’t tell myself that I’m not going to have ANY cookies, because that’s just not a realistic possibility. However, I hope to slowly wean myself off of the cookies here in order to eat more healthfully. Wish me luck!
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It’s great that you’re trying so hard to keep up with the running, and working on your diet is always a great idea if you want to get healthy. I hope that you can keep finding new motivation for what you’re doing, so the good habits stick with you.