Make it a habit. Promise yourself you’re going to do it. And do what you promised to do.
I promised myself I would post something to this blog every day for three months. It was a 92-day commitment — August, September and October 2020. I essentially gave myself permission to stop as of Nov. 1, but by then the habit was ingrained, so I kept going, and the streak began to take on a life of its own.
As of this morning, it has been 1,231 days — three years, four months and 14 days — since 24 hours went by without an update on this website.
Since the streak began, I have published the books Gladness is Infectious, 24 flashes, Full: Rockets Bells & Poetry, Echoes of Freedom Past, It’s Going to Be All Right, Jeep Thompson & The Lost Prince of Venus: Episode 1, and Ebenezer: A sequel of sorts to A Christmas Carol. The first five books are largely comprised of selected posts from that trove of 1,231 fragments of thought and bursts of creativity. The latter two have benefited from the momentum generated by sitting down to type something every day.
For at least 35 years leading up to Aug. 1, 2020, I had a dream to write books and novels, and I wrote in fits and starts over those three and a half decades. I had been blogging on and off for 15 years, as well, with mixed results. As of July 31, 2020, there were seven books in print with my name on the front cover as author. Today there are 14.
So far I have only sold a few handfuls of books every year. My day job and Social Security, not book sales, are providing me with food and shelter. But that’s not really the point.
The point is that for 35 years I wished I could write books, and I stumbled around and wrote seven. By making a promise to myself and forming a daily habit, I doubled that output in one-tenth of the time.
Do you have a dream? Don’t just dream about it.
Make it a habit. Promise yourself you’re going to do it. And do what you promised to do.
