I’ve been able to stick to 5 days straight meditating in the morning. I think I’ve done a longer streak but it’s been awhile. What’s different this time is that I’ve been doing it as part of my morning routine so I just end up flowing into it in the same spot, pretty much the same time in the mornings.

I started on a Monday and I’ve been at it throughout the week when the start of my morning routine is triggered after I drop the kids at school. I’m going to have to figure out a strong plan for tomorrow, Saturday, when the kids will just be home.

I’ve been reading a lot of good books and taking short online courses lately, following their advice on building habits and daily routines. The really good book that I understood and related to pretty well is Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. Finished the book in eight days, reading a chapter a day at least, and I took some notes and completed the exercises. I could’ve been more detailed with the work but I just wanted to start and get an idea on the process. My plan is to go back and write better notes to an outline and have a clearer picture then apply what else I’ve learned to implement more habits into my life.

With the help of that book, I’ve been flossing every night for over a month now. And not only that, I have immediately followed this habit diligently with washing my face and applying my moisturizers. It has worked out so well that my skin has significantly feels and looks smoother.

Another habit I’ve started, that the author did himself, is doing two pushups each time after I pee. It sounded nuts to me when I first read it, but I was intrigued and thought I’d try it out. The good thing is, with the quarantine life and all, I’ve been at home when I’ve had to go and I just do my pushups right outside the bathroom door. In the beginning, I’d forget so I would add two to the next one I’d do.

It has worked out great. Just a few months before, I couldn’t do one pushup at all! I could lower myself but would not be strong enough to lift my chest back up. I’m not kidding you. I had such weak upper body strength. But my strength increased also because of the four weekly online workouts sessions I’ve been doing for almost six months now.

These little things have come together from different directions, all towards the same of goal of improving myself. I wanted to get healthy and strong. I wanted to stop being so distracted during the day and not getting anything important done. I wanted a better outlook towards what I wanted to achieve. I’m still in the early parts but I’m beginning to believe the results.

And it feels good. Really good. The more important thing I’ve realized is that it’s not going to be perfect or good all the time and it doesn’t matter. I’ve learned to be gentle with self-talk and not making a big deal with mishaps. Basically, I’m just a 10 -month old learning to walk. No biggie.