I posted on Facebook the other day that I’m nearing 80,000 words written in the past seven months. Additionally, this is my 200th blog post. Although those numbers seem pretty staggering, at least to me, they have taken SEVEN months to get to. I’m still not an amazing writer, I don’t have a big blog following, and I rarely think my words are having a huge impact. But writing every day (or every weekday) has taught me so many lessons on forming habits and resisting resistance.
Checkmark Resistance
Slowly, I have been able to turn my ideas into words. When I’m really in a groove I can turn my thoughts into beautiful prose. Most of the time I don’t get to achieve groove “status” and settle on sub-par writing (at least in my standards). But the point that I am trying to get at is every day that I write is another day to check the box next to “Write a Blog Post Today.” There is so much value that comes from that little check box. It’s also important in other aspects of life whether it be completing a book or flossing before bed.
Forming Habits of Taking Small Steps to Big Outcomes
Some tasks may seem daunting, but if you break them down into chewable pieces, and take steps forward daily, eventually you arrive at staggering outcomes. For example, me writing 80,000 words. I couldn’t have imagined I was capable of writing that many words, but over time it’s become a part of my daily life. I have also read 10 books this year, surpassing my total from last year, and it’s only March. I plan on reading at least 30 books in 2017 and hopefully more. All of these come down to forming habits and resisting resistance.
Before blogging I had an idea of what habit formation looked like. It was unclear, a spaghetti approach (throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks). But habit formation from blogging has given me a proof of concept approach to making it actually happen. Blogging has taught me the importance of continuing to do, even on my off days. Instead of looking at daunting tasks as stuff I may never accomplish, I look at it as a massive puzzle that I won’t complete until I put the first two pieces together. Slowly, but surely, I’ll connect the dots and achieve my wildest dreams.