Seven months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 212. Yesterday, I talked about being prepared to deal with the unexpected. Today is a new day.
Changing our habits is a hard thing to do. It takes a lot of time, conscious effort, and perseverance. I was once told that instead of looking to change my current habits, I should try developing new habits that end up taking precedence over the old ones. This is done through creating daily routines. Out with the old and in with the new. I want to improve my art and the only way I can do that is with consistent practice, much like my daily writing. I've recently been in a slump and keep finding myself lose motivation or unable to come up with ideas, so by forcing myself to develop the habit of thinking thematically with my pieces I think I'll benefit from having more focus on my work.
This can be applied with anything in life. Whether it's taking extra time to groom ourselves to look better, going to the gym to lose weight or gain muscle, starting the day differently to be more productive, or setting a weekly budget to save up money for things in the future, there are always things we can change in order to improve our lifestyle.
Like any sort of training, it's important to start small and go at your own pace. It can also help to set aside a specific time for whatever it is you're trying to do and always do it at that time. This conditions your body to associate that time with that activity, like clockwork. With enough repetition the routine becomes an unconscious habit. While progress may be slow at first, over time those baby steps go a long way and you'll notice the tremendous growth you've made. Quality isn't achieved in one single great act, it's through the countless small ones that led up to it.
Peace
"Quality is not an act, it is a habit." - AristotleIt's October and I decided to partake in the Inktober challenge to get myself back into the habit of drawing regularly. One thing this challenge does is force me to be creative with each day having a specific theme. By keeping my focus on the theme it gives my drawings more of a purpose and serves as a means to get me into the habit of thinking thematically, which is something I think my art can definitely benefit from. Although the process is pretty slow right now, with practice and effort I know I'll come out of this month having improved my drawing skills.
Changing our habits is a hard thing to do. It takes a lot of time, conscious effort, and perseverance. I was once told that instead of looking to change my current habits, I should try developing new habits that end up taking precedence over the old ones. This is done through creating daily routines. Out with the old and in with the new. I want to improve my art and the only way I can do that is with consistent practice, much like my daily writing. I've recently been in a slump and keep finding myself lose motivation or unable to come up with ideas, so by forcing myself to develop the habit of thinking thematically with my pieces I think I'll benefit from having more focus on my work.
This can be applied with anything in life. Whether it's taking extra time to groom ourselves to look better, going to the gym to lose weight or gain muscle, starting the day differently to be more productive, or setting a weekly budget to save up money for things in the future, there are always things we can change in order to improve our lifestyle.
Like any sort of training, it's important to start small and go at your own pace. It can also help to set aside a specific time for whatever it is you're trying to do and always do it at that time. This conditions your body to associate that time with that activity, like clockwork. With enough repetition the routine becomes an unconscious habit. While progress may be slow at first, over time those baby steps go a long way and you'll notice the tremendous growth you've made. Quality isn't achieved in one single great act, it's through the countless small ones that led up to it.
Peace
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| You can break the habit by creating a new one. |
What kind of habits are you trying to make for yourself?
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