Hi Colleen,

I love your enthusiasm! It sounds like you're doing some great things!

My suggestion: start small, with just one thing at a time. You don't have to change your life all at once. I've found this to be the most effective way to make lasting changes. It does take patience, though. :)

Either way, best of luck. Feel free to email me anytime you need help ... zenhabits at gmail, with the words "interview leo" in the subject line (this ensures it gets right to me).

Leo

Be mindful that I have a type A personality and consider myself quite structured/organized and have it together. But my recent self analysis has left me re-evaluating my idea of "having it together". Outward it all fits, but inside I am overwhelmed and feel as if I am about to crash. As a matter of fact I did crash last month in the middle of court before I was even finished cross examining an officer. The Judge looked at me and asked "Counselor are you okay". I stopped and said "NO", walked out the courtroom and fell into a crying fit that took about 20 minutes to get under control. That lead me to taking a spa trip. But now I am back and feeling exhausted AGAIN. So I say to you my dear: NOW WHAT???

Col

-ladyc

Hi Col,

I highly suggest not driving 80 mph ... it's dangerous and stressful. I know it's a common practice but you have recognized that something needs to change. Start there. Leave earlier and drive more slowly. To do that, you might either:

1. Wake earlier.
2. Or, prepare yourself in the evening so you don't have so much to do in the morning.

I think you'll find that driving slower will make a big difference ... it'll set your day up for a much more positive experience.

Some other ideas for habits you could form (one at a time):

1. Try this mantra: Smile, breathe, and go slowly. Repeat this (and do it) throughout the day, whenever you feel stressed.
2. Wake a little earlier each day and take some time to start your day in peace. This could simply be watching the sun rise, or having a cup of coffee and reading, or doing some kind of meditation, or exercising, or just spending a little quiet time alone. It'll have a huge effect on your day.
3. Read "Slowing Down to the Speed of Life" by Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey ... it completely changed the way I think about stress. You can learn to be calm when everything around you is in chaos. You learn that you don't need to be controlled and stressed out by external events ... and in fact you'll realize that stress comes from our thoughts, which are totally in our control.

Just some ideas. PM me if you'd like to talk more.

Your friend in peace,
Leo

@karmani: It sounds like you're doing two or three habits at once:

1. Wake earlier.
2. Do morning meditation.
3. Do evening meditation.

I suggest you do one at a time to increase your chances of success. Doing 2-3 habits at once is very difficult. So if you follow my advice, you'd do ONE of these:

1. Only focus on waking earlier. Once you've created this habit, focus on the morning meditation.
2. OR ... only focus on the morning meditation, but do it right after you would normally wake up. If you just do 10 minutes (my recommendation), you can probably fit it in your regular schedule.
3. OR ... only focus on the evening meditation. Once you get that down, try waking ealier. Then, try the morning meditation.

Hope this helps!

Leo

Leo, what do you think about all of the "twofers" going on? It seems like a lot of us us (myself included) are aiming for two habits. I'm just wondering what you think about trying to add two habits at once.

-winterbauval

Well, I've said this before, but I really, really think that doing one habit at a time is more effective. It's hard enough to form one habit -- don't make it more difficult on yourself by taking two habits at a time. Just focus on one, then do the next one the next month. It won't kill you to wait 30 days. :)

That said, I only give suggestions based on what has worked for me (and many others) ... if you think you can handle two at a time, go for it! Just know that I believe you'd have a better chance of success with one at a time.

Best of luck, either way!

Leo

@xxy: Actually "lose weight" is not a habit. As you said, it's a goal, but in this challenge you need to identify one habit -- which would probably be something like "run/walk for 10 minutes a day" or "eat fruits and veggies instead of sweets" or something like that ... it actually takes several different habits to lose and keep weight off over the long term. Take them one at a time -- choose just ONE goal for the first month.

So if you chose exercise, for example, you would pick a trigger and do the exercise right after it. If your goal is to eat fruits/veggies instead of sweets, you'd figure out when you normally eat sweets (maybe after dinner, maybe when you pass the candy bowl at work, maybe when you wake up and have a Pop Tart, whatever) ... and that's your trigger.

Best of luck!

Leo

I did my daily meditation this morning, and have been trying to be more present throughout the day as well.

My streak is 3-for-3! :)

Happy New Year everyone!

Leo

Wow, everyone's off to an amazing start! Just keep this enthusiasm going throughout the 30 days!

As for me, I did my meditation this morning. 2 out of 2 days! Keep the streak going!

Leo

Sure, it might be easier for each person to have their own blog, but then you lose a lot of the community functions -- and it's really the social motivation that works here.

The point of grouping everyone together is that they'll help motivate and support each other. I've done it before many times and it worked every time, as long as you keep coming back every day. If you stop coming, it stops working.

Best of luck!

Leo

I've decided to take a little break from marathoning to focus more on strength training, and getting rid of the little bit of fat around my belly. :)

But marathons are definitely in my future! Just no definite plans right now.

Best of luck in the New Jersey Marathon!!

Leo

I've found that a "maybe" box works well for me ... very similar idea. I have the "keep" pile, and the "donate" pile, but some items are on the fence. So I'll put them in a "maybe" box and put it away in a closet. A few months later, when I realized that I NEVER needed any of that stuff, the "maybe" box turns into a donate box. :)

Leo