27 days into building a new habit.
28 days ago, I listened to an audiobook called “the 5 am club.” The idea in the book is to wake up at 5 am and start your day by doing 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of meditation, and 20 minutes of learning. I immediately put it into practice the next day. I have been a morning person for a long time, but I lacked discipline in the morning and often spent the morning hours idly.
I was so groggy for the first few days that I was only fully awake 10 minutes into exercise. Then my toddler would often wake up before 6 am, so I didn’t get to meditate in solitude. But I stuck to it.
A week into it, I found myself taking bedtime more seriously. I did a google search and learned that most adults need 7~8 hours of sleep. I was operating in sleep-deprived mode my entire adult life, with a few oversleeping days to compensate. I started going to sleep earlier to keep up the habit building.
Into my third week, I could wake up at 5 am and not feel dazed. I decided to meditate first before my toddler woke up and then do the exercise. Most days, I didn’t get to the learning part, but that was ok. The past few days, I started finding myself getting into more learning mode and started listening to an inspiring audiobook while getting ready for the day.
The book says that it takes 66 days to build a habit. I’m still not even halfway through, and I don’t think it’s an automatic habit yet, although it is getting easier every week.
You know, I have wanted to be this person who has the discipline to wake up and exercise in the morning for so long, but I couldn’t. I’m pretty amazed that I even made it to 4 weeks.
Yesterday I stumbled upon this quote.
“It might take you 30 days to create a habit, but that habit could change your life for the next 30 years.”
Whether it’s 21 days, 30 days, or 66 days… Is it possible to achieve a life-changing goal by simply making a decision and then sticking to it for a month or two?
It’s fascinating. Perhaps I’ve been complicating things way more than they should have been.
