Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

Habits are like pillars of our lives. They are routines or behaviours that are repeated often without conscious thought. Whilst some aspects of life come down to luck, chance, fate or genetics, creating good habits is upto us. We can only do what is in our control. It takes repetition of actions to make a habit stick. Twenty one days has become an accepted number of days to create a habit, though there is no strong science to back this up. Additionally the type of activity is an important factor also. Irrespective, one thing that is a given, is that repetition is a necessary prerequisite to create a habit.

Some of you may have come across the term “streak” which many language learning apps use to help you become more regular with your practice. It’s actually a clever behavioural tool, because no-one wants to break a streak. You can use streaks with anything.

Recently I was travelling in Europe and I decided to challenge myself to a “running streak”. Run every day for 20 days irrespective of sleep, jet lag, tiredness etc. It was a very interesting process, because i realised there was not the usual self negotiation going on in my head. I had pledged to run daily and that was that. no excuses. I completed the 20 days without too much fuss. It was empowering. Though this didn’t translate into daily running as a habit, it has continued with daily exercise, whether this be stretching, body weight exercises, gym, swimming, elliptical or running. I always feel better for it.

My current other streak that I have going is the practice of meditation. It’s something that i learned more than 30 years ago and when regular helps keep me in a great frame of mind. Whenever I get out of the habit of meditation and then pick it up again, I always wonder why I had stopped. Better energy, sleep, contentment, happiness, outlook are all beautiful byproducts of a regular meditation practice. Challenging yourself to a streak enables you to reinstate good habits.

You can start a streak for anything and at any stage of life. Here’s a few to consider: movement of any type; waking early and journalling or meditating; 30 days off alcohol; sleeping 7-8 hours per night; dropping negativity from mental or verbal chatter; seeing the good and practicing gratitude.

Make it known to someone close to help keep you accountable. Once the streak becomes long enough, it will automatically turn into a habit. Create many positive habits and you lay the foundation for a joyful life.

In Health and Wellness

Ranjit

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