Practice Practice Practice

While assessing the results of 2010 and preparing ourselves for 2011 - one thing people may not consider is practice. What would you like to practice every day? What could become a practice you do every day? There are some key elements to practice that are important to consider. 


1. Consistency: choose to practice something you really are motivated to do on a consistent basis. Often, we can begin by tweaking a practice already in use. Is there something you do every day that can be modified to meet your new aspirations? Are there key things you do each day that may serve as a regular, repeatable stepping off point for the new habit? For example  - push ups can be easily incorporated by saying that you will always drop and do them after going to the restroom, or after some other regular activity. Just drop and do them wherever you are.


2. High Interest: If you don't like it - don't kid yourself. Intense bribery is likely the only route. Choose something easier, more pleasant - and link it to something else. Such as - I can have coffee, but only after eating a healthy breakfast which includes no bread and a fruit, and the coffee can only be without sugar (I have done this one, and I got used to black coffee within about 9 days). 


3. An old love: Something you have tried before and wish you had succeeded at. If you tried it before, you may find it easier to stick to it this time. You can check out this web site and see where you would place yourself in the stages of change. You will want to be at the Preparation stage or "higher" to choose this goal with some likelihood of success. 


4. Process: Choose a process and have a goal to the process. 2010 was the "Year of the Muse" for me. I took each month to work on developing a form of creativity. I appreciate this approach because each month I have leeway - I can change the approach and still meet the goal. I do stick to one item for a month, with the end of the month as a time to re-evaluate and decide whether to continue to shift the approach. I spent the first three months with one project. The next three months I changed art forms each month. During the last six months I figured out which art I wanted to focus on and stayed the course for the rest of the year. A monthly check-in with the expectation to re-evaluate is helpful for staying reflective and on track. 


Write in to say what you may be contemplating for the next year's process... I haven't yet decided mine. I would love to hear some ideas.