Resilient Results

This post is coming much later than normal. My morning routine got interrupted.  When you have a child who has ADHD that happens.  But the lesson here is flexibility. No matter what the habit is, it’s important to try to do it at the same time or on the same conditions.  Life will happen, so al be flexible and adjust as needed.  And never miss 2 days in a row while trying to form a habit.  Trust in planning, but do not trust the plan.  

This is my second post in the effort to create a blogging habit.  I spoke yesterday how the tool I’m going to use is the 2 Minute Chain rule, and I said today I’d talk about why the two minute rule works.  I’m not a car expert, but I know that it takes a significant amount of energy to start an engine from a cold start.  In fact, the engine won’t start unless there’s another engine, the starter, that will get it turn. You also use more gas when you are constantly pressing the brakes and then starting back up, but the car needs a burst of fuel to move from a standstill as opposed to a continuous stream of gas while moving and letting gravity do some of the work.  In other words, it takes more energy to start something than it does to keep going.  That is what the two minute rule helps to overcome.  It gets you to take that first step, turn the engine, etc. It gets you to start because it’s only 2 minutes.

It’s been a while since my first post, way back in January, although it definitely does not seem that way.  I’ve been attempting to build a blogging habit for years now and usually I have a few false starts, but then drop out quickly.  This time, I’m going to combine two tools I learned in the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.  These two tools are the 2-Minute Rule and Don’t Break the Chain.  The first rule states that when starting to build a habit, commit no more than 2 minutes to it.  The second rule says to perform this habit every day.  So this would the “2 Minute Chain Rule” commit to spending 2 minutes on a habit every day. Tomorrow, I’ll give the reason why the 2 Minute Rule works (hint: it takes more energy to start an engine than to keep it running).

Well, here it is, my first post. I’ve had this blog/site for years, always with the intent of starting “something.” I’ve poured too much time and energy into a first post that few will read. You have to learn to walk before you can run, and even more, you have to learn to stand before you can walk. So here it is, my first feeble attempt. I’m going to work on making a habit of this. So, to those few who have found this post, I’ll see you in a few days.