As with all the readings we have had from Boice, I found this one too be just as fascinating as the others. Maintaining a new habit is difficult, and can easily be abandoned. I remember when I first started going to the gym, I really had to talk myself into going, I almost felt like a Drill Sargent. Then, after about a week or two, I would find an excuse, or as Boice calls it, a common interupter: just had stitches? Okay, no gym until I'm healed. It's final exams at school? Okay, no gym for this week. I picked up another extracurricular activity? Well clearly I don't have time for the gym now. Relationship problems? Well that just calls for a bowl of ice cream.
All of these are examples of Boice's interupters - calamities of health and relationships, new responsibilities, reinstatement of feelings of busyness.
And I'm sure I've come across these interupters before with writing, especially the feelings of busyness.
Boice says that in order to maintain the new habit of writing, we need to control the "negative thoughts that block writing" and the "impatience that leads to bingeing" (134). I think this will be one of the most challenging aspects that Boice has presented. It's quite easy to get discouraged and impatient. I think a good first step is being able to identify when you're making an excuse to not write and then being able to tackle it head on instead of accepting it.
I found myself thinking about the gym in terms of interrupters as well! It's probably all in my head, but every time I get in a regular pattern of exercising, something happens: I get sick and can't move let alone exercise; an emergency happens in my family and I have to rush home where there is no gym; things get busier in school and I need to work all day...etc etc etc. It's tricky to make the decision to still exercise in the midst of all that.
ReplyDeleteWhich, I suppose, is similar to brief daily sessions. It's easy to justify other things to take up that time. But, when it comes down to it, it really only has to be 20 minutes! And you don't have to shower after!
Hopefully I can remember that after the semester starts :) And I hope you can too!
It really is easy to justify other things to take up that take. But here's to hoping for a less stressful semester!
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