do you know anyone that:
goes to the gym religiously, but takes the car for a 5 minute ride;
counts their nutrients, but overindulges the first chance they get;
practices meditation, but is an angry driver;
attends church every sunday, but loves to gossip;
regularly goes on hikes, but never takes the stairs?
a little too ironic, don’t you think?
this is what happens when toxic productivity meets over compartmentalization.
I have an app on my phone where I check in with my daily(ish) habits:
wake up at 7AM
meditate
read
write
run
stretch…
there’s 15 of them in total, and I do them because they’re an integral part of my identity.
an identity that I’ve built.
(if you’ve read Atomic Habits or Tiny Habits, this won’t be a foreign concept to you.)
I’m a hiker, therefore I hike.
I’m a writer. What do writers do? they write, I write.
I want to live until I’m 89, so I eat healthily (for the most part)
no, I don’t particularly find it easier;
yes, I would also like to chill and take the elevator,
but I’m the kind of person that takes the stairs,
the decision has already been made,
I just have to do it.
yes, it’s a life of few pleasures and we must cling to the ones we have,
but much like identities, pleasures are built,
appetites are cultivated, they’re not all natural.
you can’t do an activity for which you have no identity,
so you must create it.
most days I run because I’m a runner,
other days I run for the simple pleasure of getting to check off a virtual button.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 218 of the year, there are 149 days remaining of 2022.
