Your habits are your cage

For the past 5 years I have been stacking up so-called great habits!

I quit drinking entirely. I don’t smoke. I exercise almost daily. Which is amazing!

After a while, I started stacking even more. Meditate every morning. Get to the office before 6:40am every day. Practice Italian 30 mins a day. Play tennis 2h per day.

All of this felt amazing at first!

“Only your habits will get you far” they say.

After 135 days of practicing Italian, I realized something profound. What initially got me started, has become a cage!

There were days when I got to the office at 7am, left at 7pm, and was still stressed because I hadn’t practiced Italian

I felt stupid! I was doing amazing progress in business, but because I did not practice those 30 mins of Italian, I was thinking I was not worth it

And so it hit me – habits become a cage!

Now, this does not mean you should have no habits. They are truly important!

But you need to choose which ones are extremely important and non-negotiable for you

For me, I always need to

• Get 8h sleep
• Wake up at 5:45am
• Eat healthy
• Exercise 4x a week

But all else? That’s a nice to have

I practice Italian when it suits me. If this week all of my focus is on the business and I cannot practice, all good

If on the other hand I have some free time, I’ll practice and it feels like play!

What habits are keeping you imprisoned?