Welcome to Friday and happy last day of February!
This week I’m sharing about a habit that has “stuck,” another writing recommendation, reflections about an author chat I attended this week, my husband’s reads so far this year, and a few poems I’ve decoded!
When Habits Stick
I think we have all tried to form good habits or stop bad habits, but do you recall what it feels like when you successfully create a new habit? How do you know when a habit sticks?
For me, I know a habit sticks when I no longer consciously think about it. A lot of the time when I’m creating a new habit, I have lots of preparation and validation mechanisms. But when I have successfully adopted a habit, some of those mechanisms are no longer important to me.
For example, I’m a walker. I usually walk anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour each day. When I was trying to re-establish my habit of walking last summer/fall, I made sure I laid out my clothes the night before and I always started my watch to track my time and mileage. I also ensured that each day, I logged my Conqueror Challenge mileage in the app. Now I’ve been doing this for about six months. One day this week I didn’t lay out my clothes in advance, I didn’t track my mileage/time and I didn’t log it in the app. I simply forgot to do any of that and I still walked the same distance at a similar pace as I would any other day. And I knew that I would do the exact same thing the next day. It’s a habit.
Another signal to me that I’ve successfully adopted a habit is when I know I’m going to do something no matter what. Hard days or easy days don’t really change my approach. I may bring an umbrella or adjust where I walk, but I’m still going to get it done. And if I miss a day, I know I’m going to pick it right back up the next day. And yes, it may seem quite boring sometimes, but it isn’t boring to me. And that’s all that matters!
So if you are struggling to start a new habit, consider the reward mechanisms. In the beginning, you may need more rewards than you do six months into it!
A walk through Muir Woods.
A Writing Rec
Last week I mentioned that I’m reading On Writing by Stephen King as a slow read. Well, I’ve already added another book to read based on his recommendation and have some new favorite writing quotes. King recommends The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. He also coined the phrase, “to write is human, to edit is divine.” I’ve heard it before but wasn’t sure where it came from! (Also, so far, not scary.)
Author Chat
This week I listened to the MMD author chat with Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Good Dirt. I have a confession to make: I didn’t finish the book yet! But good news, the author chat did not have any spoilers. If you are ever having trouble getting into a book, I highly recommend listening to the author talk about their work because it is always inspiring: the idea, research, symbolism, the story behind the name of the title.
Charmaine said two things that I’m taking away from the chat. The first was about how there is a “magic to humanity” that allows us to love and create art despite tragedy. The second was when she said, “history can only be told in a chorus of voices.” Basically, we can’t just listen to one voice when it comes to history because there are many sides to a story.
He’s Reading
Last night my husband told me that he has already read 8 books this year. Eight!
Decoding
Last weekend I attended a wedding for a friend I met through book club. We had about an hour between the ceremony and reception, so another friend and I headed to the bookstore to buy a book for a buddy read with the bride! We also wrote a message to her in the front of the book. The book was Invisible Strings (I wrote about it last week.)
Since then, I’ve been trying to decode the poems and figure out which songs they relate to.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
If you are also trying to decode the poems, let me know in the comments. Below are my initial guesses on a few. I haven’t looked any up online (yet)!
- #34: Tempered = The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
- #36: Hark, The Raucous Heiress Speaks = the last great american dynasty
- #63: The Supreme Court Blues: July 1st, 2024 = How Did It End?
- #66: I Don’t Need Your Letter = closure
- #88: Duet = You’re Losing Me
- #93: Homeland = exile
- #109: Auld Lang Syne = New Year’s Day
That’s it for this week! Happy reading this weekend!
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