One of my guilty pleasures, and a topic I’ve been slowly acquiring notes on, is reading and following the advice in self-help guides and different self-help guru books and websites–especially those that are free. Every time I do this, though, I always think of the late, great George Carlin’s line “if you’re looking for self help, why would you read a book written by somebody else?! That’s not self help, that’s help!”
Some of the advice I try and it’s quickly clear it’s not going anywhere. I’ve tried meditation and I just don’t get it: Sit around, focus on your breath, think about your thoughts as you think them without thinking about them, sigh, take a sip of coffee, turn on TV. (Those last three are my additions and not, technically, part of the normal meditation process.)
Similarly, I don’t really get “Morning Pages” either. It’s supposed to be like taking a mental dump in three pages every morning and that’s supposed to clear your system. You’re not even supposed to read what you’ve written (and with my handwriting, it’s unlikely I’d be able to anyway). I’m trying them again at the recommendation of a friend, but I’m always aware that I’m wasting 15 minutes that could be spent on other writing and/or drinking coffee.
I also tried, back when I could barely do two pushups, the One Hundred Pushups Plan, which promised to take me from 2 pushups straight to 100 straight in six weeks. Although my total number of pushups improved immensely, I found I hit a plateau and never got near 100 in six weeks. I think part of it was the every-other-day nature of the plan. It was hard to establish a regular habit.
That said, as I’ve written before, following some self-help advice, I did manage to stop chewing my nails, with only a few minor relapses.
Right now I’m part of a monthly challenge where participants decide on a new habit and then try to implement it for 30 days. After the 30 days, participants will decide to keep the habit or modify it. Some are writing daily blog posts (fools); some are cutting out pasta (wise); some are giving up coffee (fools without souls). I’m personally giving myself an 11:00 p.m. bedtime and getting up every day, even weekends, at 5:00 a.m. Believe it or not, this is a healthier sleep pattern than I’ve had in years and it’s making my afternoons more productive. To help accomplish this, I’ve stopped drinking coffee after 1:00 p.m. (or so).
In the morning, I’m exercising (pushups and karate leg practice) and doing my morning pages. I’m also using the time to work on some other small projects before going to work.
I suspect I’ll keep the 11-5 schedule, although I’m still not happy with my morning routine. The next monthly challenge might be no morning TV.