It happened.
I was doing so well.
Every weekday for 4 weeks.
Working hard to develop a new habit.
Then, the day came.
The streak ended.
Immediately my mind wants to give up when this happens. I felt just like guy in this doodle above. UGHHHH!!!
How many times have I committed to a daily practice only to miss a day and give up.
Gym
Running
Journaling
Doodling
Texting a long distant friend
Reading
What is it about missing a day of something that gets in my (maybe yours) head and makes me (us) feel defeated?
I realized my recent streak was over at around 11:30pm last night. My day had been full of things and I didn’t have my normal routine.
It was graduation day for my middle niece and I met her and her boyfriend for a coffee that morning.
I started teaching a new online course and it started on Monday so the inbox needed some attention.
Because graduation was gonna need me with family from 330-9, I decided to eat a big lunch to tide me over til a late dinner.
After lunch, I got so very distracted by a few antique shops nearby.
After graduation, we all went to Denny’s. Chaos ensued. After an hour and a half, gallons of tea, and some free nachos to compensate for the wait, the server told us that the kitchen hadn’t even started on our order. It was super busy because of the graduation crowd, so we kindly opted out of further waiting. Exhausted and tired, and after several rounds of goodbyes in the parking lot, we all left, bed was calling.
I got home, tucked myself in, watched my nightly episode of Big Bang Theory, and turned off the light.
The epic battle between mind and body began. The body yearned for sleep. The anxious mind wanted to make a list of 4,000 things. One item on said list…
You didn’t write a Substack and your streak is OVER!!!
!@#$%!
Alas, I did not get out of bed and write something before midnight so I could say that I added to the streak. I closed my eyes and got the rest I needed.
So, here I am today… getting back on the horse, galloping forward, starting again.
A new streak begins. Maybe it ends again tomorrow. Maybe this is the beginning of the longest substack run EVER! Regardless, I am proud that I am here.
To keep going is all I can really do. The past is gone.