Every time I see this picture it brings it annoys the heck out of me. My gut instinct tells me because I know this is exactly how I have been living for the past two decades and yet I don't take the necessary steps to change it.
Each day is notoriously known:
Monday; 'The Struggle', the morning most responsible for heart attacks.
Wednesday; 'Hump Day', finally starting to find some energy.
Friday; 'Thank God'! I can finally get some momentum and feel like I'm living life for me.
Saturday; 'This is living', the fast lane.
Sunday; 'Oops' I did the same thing as last weekend. Back up the same hill.
Known as the 'drift'. A lifestyle that is continually repeated until the day you decide to get of the well worn track. There is only one person who can make that decision, you. Its up to you and only you, and it has nothing to do with what others think. It takes courage, facing fear and taking that initial first uncomfortable step, followed by self discipline and staying the course. Its hard, but this is where personal growth lives. If you see yourself moving forward, growing you get positive emotions. More energy, more joy and fulfillment from life. If you're not growing...
Try this! In the morning brush your teeth with the opposite hand. A mind stimulating challenge recommended by Jim Kwik, brain coach and author of 'Limitless'. I tried, and it took twice as long! Straight back to using my usual hand to brush my teeth.
I know this is why I find change so hard. I am conditioned, programmed and set to repeatedly do what I know is easiest, what I have always done. To fall back into default mode once I am challenged or don't see the immediate benefits.
I think I'm pretty convinced at 46 years of age that there is no easy way, no short cut, no quick hack. Life takes effort, and that makes achieving goals so much more rewarding. Seeing how far you've moved away from a crappy behavior that wasn't serving in a positive way, and amplifying the necessity to never go back. Its too much work to do again!
For the past two years I have put in a lot of effort changing behaviors, changing patterns. Eliminating the bad and replacing with those that are good for me, to be a better version of myself for my family and for those around me. Aiming at being a positive influence in the world.
My kids have recently relocated to the Gold Coast, and I will follow. Its right here and now, at this very junction I feel as though I have two options:
Find a 9 to 5 job, work hard to pay the rent and see my kids every second weekend. Living life on the hill, living that life as Henry David Thoreau is quoted as saying, "living a life of quiet desperation,”
The second option is to find some courage, to take a risk and challenge my limiting beliefs. Dare to get off the hill and create my own path. Dare to create the life I want. Grow into who it is I could be and change the trajectory of my life.
I'm all in! I've ditched the bike, walked away from the hill and put on a pair of joggers! I'm off to discover a new path. There is no doubt I will be challenged, I'm sure that voice in my head will be saying "this was a bad idea' but we are built for challenges. The fact is, we can either choose our challenges or have them given to us by others. Both are difficult, both require a sacrifice of some kind but the difference is one leads you forwards in life while the other keeps you stuck on the hill.
I've got 600km, roughly 60 days on the road. On average, it takes 66 days to make a habit stick depending on the complexity of the task. I'm excited to see what results from breaking my patterns.
Click below and check out where I am up to on my 'great run'.
