Changing habits takes time and effort.  Making progress toward goals takes time and effort.  Granted, sometimes changing a habit is the goal, or a step toward achieving the goal.  But  the point is…time and effort.  The two things we put the time and effort in trying to avoid.  How many things in your life have you given up on because it required you to take action outside of your normal routine or step outside your comfort zone?  Better question would be how many things are in limbo or are being sporadically given false starts.  I know I could give a substantial list.  I’ll give two examples, for illustrative purposes.

The first is my effort to lose some poundage.  Something I’ve wanted to do for awhile, but my actions said otherwise.  Truth be told, my actions probably said the opposite.  Exercise sessions were few and far between.  Soda and candy were common grocery list items.  This past week, I hit the gym Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Candy recently got axed from the grocery list; followed shortly by soda.  What is different?  Before I had the mindset of need to do an hour long and push myself.  A recipe for disaster!  An hour was often not an option scheduling wise, especially since I did not prioritize it, and counterproductive exercise wise.  Now, getting to the gym is a priority.  Even if my exercise for the day is less than 15 minutes.  The idea is to get into the habit of going without burning myself out.  Candy and soda?  I stopped telling myself one won’t derail my hopes to improve my physical self.

The second is joining an FB group that works on developing commercial acting skills.  Each week the participants are given an assignment to put on tape.  The tape part is just for the practical reason of the impossibility of people all over the map physically getting together weekly.  The moderator gives recommendation on making it better for the real thing.  I’ve known about this group for the better part of a year.  And I know the moderator is qualified and has the appropriate temperament.  I finally put my foot down on the excuse making and joined.  And have been taking full advantage of membership.

I could easily undo all of the above.  I could get frustrated because the pounds aren’t melting off like butter left on the counter with the afternoon sun shining through the kitchen window.  I could have my lazy tendency creep into my efforts with the FB commercial group.  But I am now putting in the time and effort, which I would have to stop doing.

I couldn’t tell you what clicked to make this change, not that it would be any use to you.  Although, I do know it has to come from me.  In a lot of cases, I’m the only one it could come from because I’m the only one that knows about it.  In other cases, it’s a matter of taking personal ownership.  Always easier to put in time and effort, easier – not easy, when it comes from me.  But beyond this requirement, I’m not aware of any A-Ha moment that got me to finally take action.