So today was the start of my Artist’s Way Challenge, and in that vein I would like to talk a little bit about incorporating new behaviors into your life. A little while back I wrote a post on how to create a daily routine. Now I would like to talk a little about how to stick to that routine. 

For me, all it takes is one “cheat day” to throw off any new addition to my routine. A while back I committed to flossing every single day, and I followed through on this commitment for about a month and a half. Then one day I was too tired, and skipped that part of my routine. By doing this I broke a pattern that was being formed.  Since I had already cheated once, I was much more inclined to cheat again -and before I knew it I was following through on my desired behavior (flossing) only sometimes.

Perhaps one of the most challenging components of the Artist’s Way Challenge are the morning pages, because they must be done every day for the duration of the program (12 weeks). If you do the math, that’s 84 days or 252 pages (if you write 3 pages a day). Daunting? Yes, but only if let yourself get weighed down by the numbers. In order to successfully adopt a new behavior into your life you must recognize and work towards the benefit of that behavior. Don’t just do something because you’re told that you should, it will never stick. You must have a goal in mind, and every time you participate in this behavior you should be actively working towards this goal. This applies to so many different things. Exercise is a big one. Working at a gym, I see a lot of people who come to work out because they “know that they should” but aren’t entirely sure what they are trying to achieve. Therefore, their bodies never change, and they may remain at a similar fitness level for months. If you want to lose weight, set a goal for the amount of pounds you want to lose every month, and actively work towards that goal everyday. Your positive behavior will likely follow you outside of the gym into the kitchen. If you’re already at your goal weight, then set some fitness goals for yourself. Maybe you want to run a 5k under a certain time, or you want to perfect a certain yoga pose, or you want to be able to lift a certain amount of weight. The point is that you should always be moving forward and working towards something.

When it comes to the morning pages, don’t just obediently fill them out every morning because you’re “supposed to.” Answer the following question for yourself: What do I hope to achieve by spending 20 minutes every morning doing free-association writing?

Here’s my answer: I am a person that is very much stuck in her head, and my hope is that the morning pages will allow me to live more in my body. Mornings will be my opportunity to flesh out whatever is on my mind, so that I don’t have to think or dwell on it anymore. They will be a place where I can let my fears breathe and explore, so that I can better understand myself and what is holding me back. Every morning, for the next 84 days, I am committing to total honesty, and to allowing what comes out to come out. I promise not to edit myself in my free-association writing, as I know such behavior will inhibit my learning.

Why have you decided to start writing morning pages? Exercising? Meditating? etc. Answering this question, with the emphasis being on the personal reason, will dramatically improve the likelihood that you will succeed. The next step involves action, and the level of success and mindfulness with which you follow-through with the behavior will largely be determined by how strong your objective is.

Don’t forget that one cheat day could break the pattern and undermine your progress. Whatever the good behavior you’re trying to incorporate into your life, make the promise to yourself to be better  – and take it one day at a time.