I started 2020 determined to shift some longtime behaviors (as described in my blog post: Off to a great start). But I know better than to attempt a dramatic, sweeping transformation; instead I was aiming for incremental, gradual but consistent change in three key areas of my life.
Well, two out of the three were incremental and gradual; the other not so much. If my goal had been to “earn” one star each for successfully getting up early, meditating, and rebounding every day, I’m pretty sure I would have failed. I would have gotten frustrated when I only had two stars, or — heaven forbid — only one!
Instead I decided that — so long as I was making a good effort in the right direction every day — I earned my star!
So, what was the bottom line? The incremental, gradual changes went pretty darn well. I started with just a few minutes at a time several times a day on the rebounder and it felt great. I never missed a day and I can feel definite changes in my energy, stamina, and strength as a result.
Getting up dramatically earlier allowed me to gradually rebuild a consistent meditation practice, which feels incredible!
But as it turns out, “forcing” myself to get up early no matter what time I went to bed wasn’t sustainable — I was feeling rundown, getting cranky, and it was affecting my ability to function. However–! It did allow me to get off to a good start with my new year routines; in fact, over the course of the month I found myself spontaneously adding in other little healthy habits and improvements. And even though I had to back off the super early waking up, I’m still getting up way earlier than before.
So that’s why I’m saying “Well done, Bhagavati!” and “Congrats to me!”