Small Habit UPDATE: "The Pushups"

This week a client asked me, "How's your pushup habit going by the way?" ...

My response; "Awesome!"

If you're not sure what this is all about, please read my original post about this small habit that I started a month or so ago. It's NOT about "the pushups" as much as it's about the POWER of SMALL, SIMPLE HABITS. With that, here is a quick update as to some "ah ha" moments with my 10-pushups/day habit...

It's automatic! I described in my orginal post about this habit, that work days it's easiest; I come in well before my first client session to get myself organized and ready for the day. While I'm doing my usual morning routine, 10 pushups in the office is the habit. Right in the door way. Why? Because once I get settled and things set up for my first session, I HAVE TO COME BACK IN THE OFFICE. That triggers the "Oh ya! My pushups" thought and I drop to the floor. Everytime. No thinking required. 🙂

Because my habit is so small, there's NO REASON to NOT do it. I may have described in the original post where there was a morning I wasn't feeling great. But it's just 10 pushups. So instead of stressing about it and since the goal is "DO 10 PUSHUPS TODAY", I did 5 pushups - took a quick break - and did 5 more. Done!

This week I was a little more rushed than normal (for me "rushed" in the morning is I only have 20min before my first clients arrive instead of 30-35min. 🤣 Feeling flustered with myself for slogging into my morning, I dropped to the floor and did 10 "angry pushups" in the office. Done and done! Why? Because my 10-pushup habit is so small and simple it takes LESS THAN 30sec to make happen.

It makes me happy. Sounds silly I know, but I feel this way for 2-reasons;

1) I've done 10-pushups a day, MOST days of the week as I said I would. When we feel we accomplished something for ourselves, even so small, we naturally feel good.

2) I've never done 330 pushups (as of today, and counting) in such a short period of time. Seriously! Why would I? I'd rather play sports, hike, paddle, go for a run or lift some weights. Maybe when I was playing regional or college soccer, we MAY have done that many over a short period of time... But I'm thinking not. And yet, it's felt like NOTHING, BECAUSE it's a SMALL HABIT.

I continue to learn about my own pscyhology (and psychology of change in general). As I shared with my client, I had a couple other small habits I tried to implement over the past few weeks, but they have NOT turned out to stick like this one. WHY? Partly because the association isn't as strong. I didn't PAIR them with something that's automatic (like coming into my office most days of the week). This leaves more opportunity to "forget". I'm excited to try again, but create a new "recipe" (as BJ Fogg calls it in his book, "Tiny Habits") to make OTHER habits stick like my pushups.

I think back to how often I've held myself back because of my own mind. I think about how many clients (past and present) do the same. It's to no fault of our own. We're not taught how to "get out of our own mind". In this case, I've done over 300 pushups and counting vs probably much less than 100 if I did them in a "strength session" (because I'd just get bored of it and/or not stick with it). But WHY am I doing it? I'm doing it because I want to BE CONSISTENT with the habit, MORE SO to strengthen my MIND than my body. In that case - IT DOESN'T MATTER if I do 50, 75 or 100 pushups in ONE day OR spread them out over several days, does it?

This is where we get "stuck" in our pursuit of health and wellbeing.

If I was training for a competition where I had to do 'x' number of pushups... then this wouldn't be my best bet.

If I was being tested on pushups because I was going into the military for example... then this wouldn't be my best plan of attack.

... BUT I'M NOT. I'm training for HEALTH and WELLBEING.

I'm training for MY FUTURE ME to be able to play with my grandson, be a big dumb kid as an adult AND be able to get up and down from the floor with ease. In that case, I'm RIGHT where I need to be with my habit.