How can I transform short-term inspiration into long-term change?

I’m fixated on trying to get consistently good at converting short-term ideas and inspiration, into long-term life changes. For example: “Eat better,” is easy most of the time. Until I get stressed out, and run to the TV-monster to shut off my brain. Then, well I just have to be snacking on something. And then, half a day goes by and I don’t feel well.

Why? It’s complicated, of course. Some of the reasons are neurological, like that exercising self-control requires deploying self-regulation, which at a certain point gets exhausting. Others are psychological, like that a change conflicts with our values or our identity.

~ Chris Bailey, from Why common sense isn’t common action

When I’m honest, I do know the actual answers which Bailey is pointing towards: Discipline, planning and reasonableness are of equal importance. Most of my days are very average. I have basically the same routine. That’s awesome. That’s the situation because I’ve worked very hard, and because I’ve been quite lucky and blessed with my initial conditions. What works best is when I plan rigorously. That includes planning for days when there will be no plan for the entire day.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception it is a prevailing attitude.

~ Colin Powell

It’s great to have a day (or even several days) marked on my calendar as: Fun Thing All Day. I’m really good at enjoying that day. I can be spotted smiling; At the end of such days my face hurts from smiling. I can be spotted paused, at totally random moments, dumbstruck, thinking: “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” On such days, I’m not stuffing cake in my face all day (although I will go out of my way to get to a Brooklyn Doughnut Plant.) Invariably, I’m doing something aligned with my values. I’ve earned that day through having discipline on all the other days where I could have also just screwed around, but didn’t.

In ​Meditations, Marcus Aurelius writes about holding the reins in his non-dominant hand as both an exercise to practice and a metaphor for doing the difficult thing. He wanted to get good at doing things both ways, at developing the ability to thrive in any and all situations. Naturally, we’re more confident where we are dominant. But the problem is you become progressively weaker in the hands or the areas that you neglect through this favoring.

~ Ryan Holiday, from Always Try To Do It The Hard Way

Exactly. And then, on my decadent days off, the sheer simplicity of things will be pleasant and engaging. A million snapshots come to mind: Gee, this sunshine is really nice! Look at all these people out enjoying this park! Look at this park! And even things like: Gee, it’s nice to breath in! It seems to me that my mind and body love to quickly move the hedonistic status quo. Great becomes blasé in about an hour. Thus, I do things like be my own snow thrower, and then if it doesn’t snow (when it was predicted) I think: Gee, it’s particularly nice today!

Most of our mental development and study discipline comes through formal education. But as soon as we leave the external discipline of school, many of us let our minds atrophy. We don’t do any more serious reading, we don’t explore new subjects in any real depth outside our action fields, we don’t think analytically, we don’t write — at least not critically or in a way that tests our ability to express ourselves in distilled, clear, and concise language. Instead we spend our time watching TV.

~ Stephen Covey

The above is one of two quotes which, if it comes to mind as I’m sitting before the TV monster, is just powerful enough to dislodge me. At the top I started talking about discipline in making long-term changes. I used to have a beloved air popcorn-maker. I made the best popcorn in the known universe. “Something has to change here, Craig.” So I tossed the beloved popcorn maker into the trash… and bought a spiffy rowing machine. Now I think: “Popcorn! …oh, right, past-me made that choice for today-me.” I also think, as I plan each day: “I enjoy rowing. I think I’ll plan to do that tomorrow.” It’s a big ship and the rudder is small rudder. But it does steer.

Just heard that one: “He gives twice who gives promptly : payment rendered promptly is worth twice as much,” though I take it that this can be used for anything (e.g., requested advice) and not just payment. Apparently stems from Publilius Syrus, though perhaps it was old when he was young.

~ Eugene Volokh, from “Bis Dat Qui Cito Dat”

To be fair, that has nothing to do with my theme today. I’ll just say, I’ve previously warned there aren’t always transitions here in 7 for Sunday.

‘Cause one day we’re gonna come back
And laugh at it all
One day, we’ll look at the past
With love, love
One day, we’re gonna come back
And relive those thoughts
One day, we’ll look at the past
With love, love
With love, love

~ Matthew Sanchez et al.

This is probably a case where one’s impression from lyrics depends on your state of mind. I hear (or read) that and it reminds me how discipline (with appropriate breaks to run in the wild flowers) pays off years later. Another example: Possibly the smartest thing I’ve ever done was to buy a digital photo frame and jam photos into for years. Every half an hour I notice a different photo. Wow, the memories.

[Do you believe in a superior being?] Oh, don’t ask that – but if I knew that tomorrow a meteorite would destroy our planet, I would start shooting a new film today.

~ Werner Herzog, from Werner Herzog

Say what you will about Herzog (there’s much to say, I’ll wait) but he has a style and certain flair. So did Proust, and all the great artists. When I read about such people, I can’t help but admire their discipline. How their choices are as much about what to do, as they are about what not to do.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

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