I pride myself on self awareness, but even those who are often self-aware can have blind spots. I knew I had some unhealthy habits that I have been circling around for awhile, whose progress was thwarted by quarantine depression. Some time in the depths of existential crisis is understandable during these unpredicted times, but now it’s time for me to move forward.
Doing an exercise out of Atomic Habits is what brought on tonight’s bout of self-reflection. I completed the Habits Scorecard, which is essentially a table where you list out all of your daily habits, and then next to that you denote if they are positive, negative or neutral. Then from this list create what I think of as “action statements” where you apply the formula. “I am going to x when y.” For example, one of mine is “I am going to write for at least 30 minutes everyday after I take a shower.” This gives me a concrete action, duration, and timing to place in my day, while keeping the flexibility of writing whatever I want.
I can’t lie, it felt like a punch in the gut when I realized how many bad habits I am still swirling with. Even when something is “obvious,” it’s not always obvious until you see clearly enough to digest how much you AREN’T doing. On the other hand it is empowering to take accountability and recognize that you can change and only YOU are standing in your way. Show me the data and I will pivot on a dime. So here is my data — I have a table of information showing me where my gaps are, where there is low hanging fruit to take action on, and where to create specific plans of action to change my habits instead of just telling myself I will do it eventually.
Chestnut Cowboy 