CONSISTENCY is KEY

This week I pray for CONSISTENCY.  

Over the years - I have added so many new hahahabits in my life.  The only way I know how to do this is to show up and take a baby step in a new direction and then repeat and repeat and repeat.

I did the same thing when I wanted to lose weight.  I started walking.  Walking out the door of my house and walking to the end of the block and then back home again.  At first, I would go towards the right when I walked out my door.  I would walk past 4 houses to the stop sign and then turn back and walk home.  I did this consistently every day (thahahahank you Susan Powter and Stop the Insanity) for a week.   The following day, I turned left and walked past 6 houses to get to another stop sign.  I did this consistently for a week.   Those were my first two weeks of walking.   Daily - short and sweet - action steps.  By the end of week 2, I was feeling really good.   And my pants were looser.

I learned that it didn't matter how long I walked each day RATHER that I walked daily.  Once I became consistent with my walking everything else fell into place.  Like increasing my capacity to breathe and stamina.  On week 3, I went past the stop sign and continued up the block.  Crossing the street and walking by 7 more houses.  Now, all these years later, I've upped my game.  I no longer count houses.   I measure miles.  I've also lost 80 pounds and went from big boned to petite.

This is how I learn to do things.   I decide to try something.  I show up.  I do it once.  I do it again.  I do it a third time and I start to build muscle memory.  It gets easier to do.   Over the years, this CONSISTENCY formula has served me well.    It's how I became hooked on Pilates.  It's how I began to meditate.    It's how I became a yogini.

 

This is how our Laughter Yoga started.  I showed up once and then again and then again and here we are seven years later - going strong and with a powerful haha muscle.   

What I've noticed over the years are these 3 STEPS to making CONSISTENCY work:

1.    THINK IT - set my mind to something 

2.    DO IT - just do it - whatever I committed to in my mind, I apply into my life - for 5-15 minutes

3.    REPEAT - woohoo - done it once, now do it again

These 3 steps move me into ACTION where my thoughts become my new reality.

This week, I pray for CONSISTENCY in other areas of my life - relationships with people, art and creativity.  I pray for the COMMITMENT to make these priorities and to follow through until the muscle memory builds and makes it easy.