The Misconception: If you stop engaging in a bad habit, the habit will gradually diminish until it disappears from your life.
The Truth: Any time you quit something cold turkey, your brain will make a last-ditch effort to return you to your old ways.
~ David McRaney from, Extinction Burst
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I’ve been slowly collecting small thoughts so that I could begin writing something about my journey. Over a year ago, I found an oath on Nerd Fitness, but hesitated committing; There are bits in this oath that will demand 40+-years-big-ship-small-rudder sorts of changes of me. I’ve been revisiting it periodically to see how it felt each time I tried it on.
I love it. I’m committing to it.
My oath:
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I shall make no excuses and hold no grudges.
I care not where I came from, only where I am going.
I don’t compare myself to others, only to myself from yesterday.
I shall not brag about successes nor complain about my struggles, but share my experiences and help my fellows. I know I impact those around me with my actions, and so I must move forward, every day.
I acknowledge fear, doubt, and despair, but I do not let them defeat me.
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You’re tired of the small stuff. You have a burning ambition to achieve something big with your life: write a novel, make a billion dollars, go tap-dancing on Mars.
Few will dare to even try. Are you willing to be one of them?
~ Oliver Emberton from, 3 steps to achieve something big
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It’s surprising how hard we’ll work when the work is done just for ourselves. And with all due respect to John Stuart Mill, maybe utilitarianism is overrated. If I’ve learned one thing from being a cartoonist, it’s how important playing is to creativity and happiness. My job is essentially to come up with 365 ideas a year.
~ Bill Watterson from, May 20, 1990
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…from May 20, 1990: Advice on Life and Creative Integrity from Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson
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There will come a day when I can no longer do this.
Today is not that day.
…a wonderfully inspirational thought for us oldsters!
This photo of me at the crux of The Edge of Time (5.9R) in Estes Park Colorado was taken by Mike Bowyer in August 2014. I saw this caption on an image of a bicyclist posted by a cyclist friend of mine and wanted to make one that would hit closer to home.
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[T]he mind wants comfort, and is afraid of discomfort and change. The mind is used to its comfort cocoon, and anytime we try to push beyond that comfort zone very far or for very long, the mind tries desperately to get back into the cocoon. At any cost, including our long-term health and happiness.
~ Leo Babauta from, The Lies Your Mind Tells You to Prevent Life Changes
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The second way of living is the opposite: eat simple food in moderation, enjoy the Internet but with limits so that we can focus on important work, get away from TV and computers once in awhile to enjoy nature and being active and exercising, shopping less and having less possessions, finding focus and being mindful. It’s not that we don’t indulge in the treats of the first way, but we do it with a little restraint, and consciousness.
~ Leo Babauta from, A Brief Guide to Overcoming Instant Gratification
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But many others put off their dream careers, or stay in jobs they like, because they’re afraid to figure this out. Being in a job, or staying in college, means that you have someone else imposing work and deadlines on you, and you’ll get fired (or dropped from school) if you don’t do the work. So you put off doing the work until you can’t anymore because of the fear of being fired.
~ Leo Babauta from, Making Yourself Work
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As you look back on the year that has just past, do you feel as though you spent another 12 months merely existing instead of truly living? Do you often go to bed at night with an anxious, sinking feeling that you wasted away another precious day of your limited time here on earth? One of my all-time favorite old books addressed this very concern better than anything else I’ve ever read.
~ Brett McKay from, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
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104 years old, still readable, and totally apropos of our lives today.
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It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you implement that into your life… every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs. Keep Going. Remember why you started.
~ Jillian Michaels
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