Chris here.
Bad Habits Build
I’m a runner. That is to say, I come back to running from time to time, whenever it seems to make sense and I get the urge. The winter time, though, is particularly hard on me when it comes to physical activity. It’s probably the same for many of you. The combination of cold/wet/windy and darkness until 7 AM just makes getting out of bed and outside so darn difficult.
Usually, January and February in north Texas are the worst months in the winter for outdoor activity. You might get some not-too-cold days here and there. But for the most part, we just get weeks of rainy, cold, windy yuckyness. And if you like to hike (like our family does) that really puts a damper on things, even on warm, dry days. Many of the trails around here either close down from flooding, or they just become too sticky and gross to traverse.
But that’s not the real challenge of the winter for me. The real challenge is that I spend weeks upon weeks building up the bad habit of being inactive. As that habit builds upon itself, it becomes more and more difficult to come back to physical activity (running, for me) when we suddenly have a warm day again. It’s been this way for me most of the winter this year. The cold mornings make my warm bed all the more appealing, even if I know that I want to be a runner.
What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be?
But this isn’t really a post about physical activity.
The natural human tendency is to revert to whatever we’re already programmed to do, through habits. In my experience, we also tend towards things that require the least amount of energy and effort. It’s much easier to watch Netflix in the evening than it is to practice guitar for 30-60 minutes. It’s easy to let the dishes pile up on the counter if the need to wash them isn’t pressing. It’s easy to say “no” when the kids want someone to read to them, because there are 840 other things on the to-do list.
Yesterday, the girls and I had a great afternoon. I discovered a trail behind a local park, and we spent the afternoon hiking. I also went for a run, because it was beautiful outside and it was a Sunday morning. This morning, it was also not raining and relatively warm. But my automatic tendency was to not go out for a run because hadn’t I just hiked and gone for a run yesterday? And then it hit me — I’m awake, it’s still warm, and still dry. I can do it, so I should do it.
I think the same applies in our every day lives. What kind of dad do I want to be (and what kind of dad do I want my kids to remember)? Do I want them to remember that I told them “Not right now,” when they asked me to read to or play with them? No! It certainly is easier in the moment to say no, because our to-do list is endless. There are a million other ways I could be making our house cleaner, getting the next work task done, etc. Those things are important too, but they’ll always be there.
Do It Now, If You Can
You know what won’t always be there? My kids, right at the age they are now. This body, and its ability to run three miles without that much effort. Maybe for you, it’s time with your spouse, or the chance to learn a new skill, or pray/meditate. Those things are hard to do precisely because they are easy to ignore for today’s stuff.
In the long run, though, the stuff that’s easy to ignore now is the stuff that makes life meaningful and beautiful when you look back on it. So if you have a chance to do it today, then do it today! Even if you have to put off the dishes on the counter or answer the email tomorrow. Most of the time, that stuff will still be there, waiting on you.