This blog emphasizes the importance of maintaining commitment to new habits while remaining flexible in adapting to changing circumstances. It shares personal experiences of adjusting habits when moving cities, highlighting the need to tweak routines without compromising on consistency. The message encourages a balanced approach of dedication and adaptability for sustainable habit formation.
Be Flexible but be Committed
“Stay committed to your decisions,
but stay flexible in your approach.”
—Tony Robbins (American Author, Coach,
Speaker, and Philanthropist)
While building good habits, be flexible and not hard on
yourself. We normally get comfortable with one thing
and then getting accustomed to something else is a bit
difficult. It is human nature.
The inhibitions or apprehension of adapting to a new
habit takes over. It can make you give up even before
trying your new habit. But once you decide to stick to the
new habit, nothing can stop you, that is how you have to
train your brain. You can be flexible with yourself while
getting used to the new habit. I was working in Chennai (Tamil Nadu, India) for two
and a half years. It was in July, 2020 I moved to Jaipur
(Rajasthan, India) with my family. Jaipur was familiar to
me since I had lived there for five years. While I was living
in Chennai, it was easier for me to finish my morning
programmes like meditation, breathing exercises,
visualization, updating my vision board followed by one
hour habit session. I would wrap all the rituals by 7 am
and proceed for my morning walk. The reason I could
cover everything in time was because my office was closer
to my residence, so commuting time was much lesser.
Although once I moved to Jaipur, initially the 1st week
was quite challenging, everything needs to put in place,
household chores, then daily habit session. I did some
correction in my routine, getting up on same time 4:30
am, then morning habit practice as routine and I shifted
the morning habit class by 5:45-6:45 am earlier 6:00-7:00
am. This gave me an opportunity to wind up everything
before 7 am, so that I can finish other work and go to
office by 7:30 am. When I moved to Jaipur, it was a bit
challenging since we need to settle down first. For a week,
it got difficult but then I decided to make some changes
in my routine, adjusted the morning timings and began
practising my morning sessions again. It all fell in place;
I was able to wind up everything in time and could reach
office on time.
I got this idea of flow with winds from a book named
‘Zen Habits’. Some events are unforeseen and beyond our control,
like late meetings at work, family functions, overseas
business trips etc, so it may get difficult for us to exercise
our routine, which is why we can learn to be flexible.
It is easier to forget the good habits or continue with
the newly formed good habits if some situation arises and
you are not able to continue your pre-decided programmes
and once you are back to the normal scenes, it can get
difficult to get back to what you have been practicing. A
gap of one or two days is normal, but if it increases, you
may other give up totally or it will be extra efforts you will
have to put in to get back to your newly acquired habits
and practicing what you have been.
Use 5-5 minutes habits where you have scarcity of time.
Even if you practice 5 minutes, your new habit pattern in
brain cell will not break and your habit will be intact.
When you are with flexible mind set, you always look
for the alternate way of doing the thing. Suppose you
moved to a new city, don’t expect the same amount of time
you will get as previously you were having, think about
your habit and think how you can be consistent and your
habit can be sustainable. When you bring this thought
in your mind, you get abundance of ideas; you can make
notes of it. Just pick one idea and act on it immediately.
Just think about 5 minutes. 5 minutes only you have to
practice that habit, so push yourself, get up and finish the
activity. Flexible people are like water. Even the big rock comes
in the path of water, water always makes its own way.
Likewise, you have to be flexible when it comes related to
habits.
Once Bruce Lee said “Be water my friends. Empty your
mind; be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water
into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it a teapot,
it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be
water, my friend.
Inspired Action
Be committed and be flexible for your habits.
Contact Information:
Website: www.magicalhabit.in
Email: habithemsingh@gmail.com
Phone: +91-9752372023
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