Day 21... is this habit forming?

About two years ago I joined Weight Watchers. I had been struggling with my weight and the issues of (ugh!) exercising for some time. I was getting tired of feeling, well, tired. And sluggish, and fat, and miserable about myself. So I did something about it. At the time, I remember receiving the message from three different sources that if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit. So I decided that if I could exercise for 21 days, I would be set!

Well ... I would like to tell you that the Weight Watchers trip was a great success. I dropped twenty pounds, and I have in fact, more or less, kept it off. This Christmas period was a little indulgent, but I hover close enough to my new weight, and have managed to do so for over a year.

The habit of exercise is another thing!!! And here I was today, trying to use that line on a client!! And she said "Ya right! That's full of crap!!" Who was I to argue? However... here is where it gets interesting. Do something for 21 days. If it does not become a habit, do it for 21 more! If at anytime you "slip", "let go" - whatever, you start over. Can you see how actually, you could exercise for ever this way? Hmm...

Staying dedicated to yourself is tough work. I know I said that yesterday.

Actually the point of today's post was not supposed to be about exercise but about creating a habit. Like, say, gratitude?! This is day 21. I haven't missed a single day. I am not planning to. I am grateful that I am taking pause everyday to say thanks to the universe for providing me with endless experiences from which to grow and learn. Thanks to the universe for the time I find to reflect on and write about these things. There is a new lens with which I look at the world. It's positive, hopeful, full of possibility. This acknowledgement of gratitude demands I be aware of my self, those around me; be in tune with my experiences, be active not passive in the living of my life. This is something I could get used to.

The newly found habit of gratitude, you guessed it, is one I am deeply grateful for.