This morning was one of those that hits a little different when you wake up after an interrupted night with a screaming 1 year old. There was real pain, but we were having a hard time figuring out what exactly was wrong. Hungry? Teething? Gas? So we took turns and did the only thing we could do, be there with him for hours.
Then the morning automations gently lifted the lights and our alarms buzzed. 5am came quick. My wife shut it all down and told me to go back to bed, which for the first 5 minutes, I was thankful for the excuse. But then I felt that pit in my stomach, that little nagging dread that told me that if I didn’t get up, it would tank my day, be the excuse to sit a little more or indulge with an extra bite of dessert at night. So I started in with my routine, and within 15 minutes, I didn’t have to say anything and she was on board too. We kept the habit. It’s the small unseen choices that build up to define our character, and it’s the story we tell ourselves that sticks. We are people who choose to get up when it’s tough, and we like that ethos. That first flutter of opening your eyes that triggers the desire to find familiar footing as you make your way through the morning routine. If you can make that one change, and commit to it. First one day at a time, then in an effort to keep a streak, then you’ll find that it has become muscle memory and that is the point at which it becomes easier because you’re not fighting the thought and you can focus on the next thing. It becomes easy, and step by step you find yourself falling in love with the process of chasing the challenge.
Today’s Daily Dad was about helping kids find and follow their bliss to develop mastery rather than forcing arbitrary milestones or objectives.
The art is that there needs to be encouragement, structure, and vision that is by its nature an ideal that is not the natural state. Think about how a neuron works to form new connections in the brain. Nodes that are too far apart aren’t going to magically connect overnight, but as all of the closest nodes start to pull in a particular direction, the rest gravitate in a new direction and by the force of the system pull two disparate nodes into proximity to limit the gap. If we can measure (and feel) these gaps that are the ideal and then find those opportunities around us that aim at pulling us in the right direction, then almost by fate we can sit back and watch the weight of the system pull together. It’s the work of being able to form connections gently that makes the magic work.
Or at least that’s how I see it. All problems boil down to how we are intentionally stretching ourselves on a daily basis to redefine, recommit, mold our actions into habits into character. If we’re too serious about it and not having fun, it should be no wonder why those around us might not want to also pull in the same direction.
I did the right thing this morning, I didn’t fight my wife when she turned out the lights, she needed that. I didn’t tell her we needed to get up, I gently gave into something that I didn’t have direct control over, I gently started my own routine and let the work we’ve been focused on pull with its own gravity.
It’s the same thing with the workout, could I have gone super hard, yes, and realistically I’d hurt myself and set back the work I’ve been doing. At this stage, we are still strengthening all the smaller muscles, focused on the building blocks. I’m older, it takes longer. I did what stretched me without breaking. That’s the goal. And…I enjoyed it, which means I’ll be back tomorrow.
Drip. Drip. Fit.