Habits

Lately I've been thinking a lot about habits. Good habits and bad habits. Last April I made the decision to start going to the gym at 6:00 a.m. before work. My goal was to go five days a week, Monday - Friday.

In the beginning it was hard, I had to wake up one hour earlier than normal. There were days I wanted to turn off the alarm and stay in bed. There were times when I went out of town and got off my schedule.

But I went right back to it when I could. I think they say it takes 3 weeks before a habit becomes routine. Or if you are trying to break a bad habit, then it would take that long to replace the bad habit with a good habit.

I really like exercising in the morning. I get it done and then when I get off work it's one less thing to do. It makes me feel good to start my day that way. Some days I get to spend some time in the sauna, which is one of my favorite things to do.

I worried when summer was ending, knowing it would get darker and colder in the mornings. But you know what happened? The darkness and the cold were gradual. Because I was still going every morning, I adjusted to it. I've had ice on the windshield this week but that's okay.

I had a few workouts with a trainer and was even given two free sessions. That helped to change up my routine and learn new things. The only downside to mornings are that most of the classes offered are later in the day.

Another added benefit is getting to spend a solid 30 or 45 minutes reading while on a machine.

Now that I have this good habit established, maybe it's time to conquer another one.