This applies not only to things you have to do, but also to things you think you want to do. Maybe you think you should learn Spanish, but you haven't done anything to actually learn Spanish. Admitting that you're not really committed to the idea enough to do the work of learning Spanish can help close that loop. Letting go of the feeling that you should learn Spanish might be the thing that frees your mind enough for you to decide to learn. go boating on a whim. The point is that the new year isn't just a time to start something new. It's time to let go of things from the past that no longer serve you.
In many ways, this is the antidote to the ever-popular “Just Do It” slogan. Go ahead implies that you shouldn't think about it, instead of deciding what you really want to do or should do. Maybe take some time to remember why you wanted to do it in the first place, and if those reasons no longer resonate with you, just do not do it.
If you like this idea, I highly recommend buying Allen's book. It goes into more detail about this idea and gives some practical advice on letting go. You can still keep track of those, in case you decide, years from now, when you're sailing the Sea of Cortez, that you now really want to learn Spanish and are ready to go for it. job.
Remember to live
I will confess, my enthusiasm for Get the job done has weakened over the years. Not because the system doesn't work, but because I've seen my life improve dramatically by doing less, not more. It's not that I stopped getting work done. That is, I realized that many of the things I felt I should do weren't really my ideas; they are ideas I have picked up from other places. I really didn't want to do them so I didn't, and then I felt guilty about it.
While everything I wrote above is still good advice for starting a healthy habit and maintaining it, you should take a moment and make sure you know why you want to do what you do. what am I doing. I read it again by Bertrand Russell Praise lazinessand this line startled me: “Modern man thinks that everything must be done for another purpose and never for its own sake.”
In the case of habits, I think it's important to consider whether you want to start a habit because you love what the habit is or because you think you should because it will make you happier, healthier, or more successful. more work. Doing things because you truly love them for their own sake is more likely to lead to success.
work
As one of my writing professors once said, to be a writer, you have to put your butt in the chair and actually write. To become a yogi, you must practice yoga. If you want to run, you must run. There is no easy way around it. You have to put on your grown-up pants and get to work.
However, there is a flip side, as Clear pointed out earlier in the article Atomic habitsThe way to change who you are is to change what you do. “Every time you write a page, you are a writer. Every time you practice the violin, you are a musician. Every time you start training, you are an athlete.” Every time you do work, you become the future person you want to be.