60 days ago I would not have been able to tell you that I was able to do this. 60 days ago I was still thrashing internally due to being unable to think of what to do. But 45 days ago I started a journey to improve myself, every day, thanks to you James Clear and your book Atomic Habits.
Let us take a look:
The legend for my chart is as follows:
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| Line with X | This is meant to signify that I started the habit this day. |
| Raindrops | Signifies that it was "too rainy" and the dog walk did not happen. |
| !! | This signifies that I "upgraded" the habit this day. Example: one chess puzzle per day to two chess puzzles per day. |
| :( | This means I failed (or forgot) to do it today. |
| Filled In | This means I completed the task |
There are several days where I did not want to complete my tasks, and I in-fact failed twice: once for the dog walk in June and once for my chemistry studying in July. The dog walk in June was honestly me being lazy - my dog has a rain coat (its super cute, by the way). The chemistry skip in July was because I remembered it at 22:30 while laying in bed. I had renumbered what James said about allowing things to fail once in a row but not twice in a row - so I got off my ass the next day.
At first when you start this journey, it really starts off as as feeling like you "have" to do these things - that you are giving up freedom to loaf around. There is a paragraph from Atomic Habits that I feel is very powerful and I want to quote it here - from page 42/228 (according to my iPad):
Habits do not restrict freedom. They create it. In fact, the people who don't have their habits handled are often the ones with the least freedom. Without good financial habits, you will always be struggling for the next dollar. Without good health habits, you will always seem to be short on energy. Without good learning habits, you will always feel behind the curve. If you're always being forced to make decisions about simple tasks - when should I work out, where do I go to write, when do I pay my bills - then you have less time for freedom. It's only by making the fundamentals of life easier that you can create the mental space needed for free thinking and creativity
James Clear, Atomic Habits
For the first time since I have graduated college, I feel like I can be in control of my life and my career.
Life rules!