OK, first week of September done! How did it go for you?
If you remember, last week I set up a 30 day challenge for myself, and I committed to giving you updates on my progress (which is an amazing trick to increase the chances of success).
El caso es que ya bastante reto ha sido la primera semana entera de vuelta a la rutina, con horarios completos de colegio, instituto y oficina incluidos, e invitados en casa el fin de semana (¡gracias, primos!). Con todo y con eso, empecé muy bien (como suele pasar), dedicando cada día un rato a hacer ejercicio de distintas maneras: paseo, yoga, máquina de remo… Y todo iba estupendamente hasta que se me cruzó el jueves, que no paré en todo el día, y no fui capaz de hacerle un huequito al ejercicio.
If you´ve ever done a challenge of this type, or you´ve established (or tried to establish) a new habit, you´ve probably bumped into this problem as well: what happens if, for whatever reason, you skip a day? Is it time to throw it all away?
Nuestra tendencia natural puede ser a pensar así, en términos absolutos (o, podríamos decir, en términos binarios, haciendo honor al título de este blog): todo o nada, blanco o negro. Si no he conseguido terminarlo entero, entonces es como si no hubiera hecho nada… Nuestro cerebro simplifica de esta manera para ahorrar energía, y también porque no le gusta nada la incertidumbre, así que busca una respuesta categórica (y si no la encuentra, se la inventa). Siguiendo ese razonamiento supersimplificado, saltarse un día equivale a fracasar; ya no hay nada que hacer, la racha de 30 días se ha roto, así que más nos vale tirar ya la toalla.
But there are other ways to think about the same situation that are equally valid and way more productive, encouraging us to continue to make progress instead of pulling us down into shame:
- For example, I could choose to remember the fact that I´ve been able to exercise intentionally on six days out of seven, which is much much higher than what I would have been able to achieve if I hadn´t been participating in the challenge.
- I could also give myself at least some credit for staying more active in general, going up and down the stairs in the office, going outdoors for walks more often, etc.
- I could even congratulate myself for at least having started a several-day streak, and for resuming it after the day I skipped.
If you think about it, even Duolingo forgives you when you skip a day of practice! Basically, because they know that us humans are not perfect, and that these things happen; staying constant is quite difficult.
(Sign seen in Dundrum shopping centre last year, with a quote from Seth Godin: "The only thing worse than starting something and faliing... is not starting something.")
We could also go one step further, and take the opportunity to look inside and investigate what may be behind that small "failure": what´s the real reason why I wasn´t able to meet my commitment? Am I aligning my daily priorities with what I consider important in my life? In which way may I be sabotaging myself?
And here is where being familiar with our personality patterns proves to be tremendously helpful, allowing us to hit the nail on the head and find the reasons why we do a lot of the things we do, as well as explain those contradictions that drive us (or our loved ones) crazy sometimes. This is what is going to determine the difference between continuing to stumble on the same stone again and again or finally getting to understand the path and have an easier journey.
So, are you up for it? Have a look at the services page, contact me , and let´s talk about it.