Readers,
sixty days have passed since my journey to transform my life through incorporating a new habit every 10 days. the last 10 days was spent trying to incorporate a habit of sleeping at midnight.i failed miserably virtually every night and have come to the conclusion that this is not even a habit that is important to make at this stage in life considering i can wake up at 9 15 am every morning on working days giving me plenty of sleeping time even if i sleep at 1!
i also 'broke' the hoovering habit as i didnt hoover on the last sunday gone by. having said that, the house was clean and so i decided there was no point doing so just to keep a habit. the house has subsequently got dirty and i will certainly hoover tomorrow.
the next habit i aim to incorporate starting from tomorrow is to brush my teeth twice a day - once before i shower and once before i sleep.
this wont result in me sleeping later.. as its a 2 min job.
it will ensure my teeth are always clean.. and that i stop eating sweets, chocolate and other junk after i have brushed.
its a very simple and minor thing but im sure there are loads of us who have half mentally commited to this many many times yet never maintain it.
i am committing to this for 10 days.
(thats not to say i will stop after 10 days... but a 10 day commitment is lss threatening)
thus far i have stopped nothing i started except the sleep thing... and thats a positive.. because it shows i am not a robot.
i look forward to 10 days of fresh breath and clean teeth.
i shall be back on the 10th of april to share how my experience went.
peace
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Saturday 21 March 2009
Reflections
Readers,
as promised, i am maintaining my posts on a ten dailly basis.
the challenge set out in the last 10 days was to shower before 9-15 a.m and before breakfast.
i achieved the 'before breakfast' part every single day but failed in the before 9 a.m department on one day because i slept at my cousins house and opted to come home and shower at 10 am rather than at 8 am.
i also maintained the other four habits so its been a very successful 10 days.
my next challenge is to turn off all the lights at midnight including telly main switch located on telly rather than mere standby and not turning it on till following morning after shower (telly that is.. not so much lights as i use them while praying morning prayer).
this will achieve two things:
i) a disciplined healthy sleeping pattern
ii) saving electricity while sleeping on standby light on telly.
Life is great. As it has been 50 days from my first habit, forty days have passed on my second habit meaning its close to becoming ingrained and automatic behaviour.
there is no real temptation to stop these habits.
in fact manchester united lost their last two matches which i am sure in the past would have damaged my spiritual psyche but my life has taken on greater meaning in the last 50 days. am i upset they lost? of course - i have not become a robot. but if i had the choice to slip on even one of my new habits for just a day deliberately for no good reason to trade it for a manchester united triumph.. i feel i wouldnt do it.
back in 10 days.. hopefully with more positive news about my new challenge.
as promised, i am maintaining my posts on a ten dailly basis.
the challenge set out in the last 10 days was to shower before 9-15 a.m and before breakfast.
i achieved the 'before breakfast' part every single day but failed in the before 9 a.m department on one day because i slept at my cousins house and opted to come home and shower at 10 am rather than at 8 am.
i also maintained the other four habits so its been a very successful 10 days.
my next challenge is to turn off all the lights at midnight including telly main switch located on telly rather than mere standby and not turning it on till following morning after shower (telly that is.. not so much lights as i use them while praying morning prayer).
this will achieve two things:
i) a disciplined healthy sleeping pattern
ii) saving electricity while sleeping on standby light on telly.
Life is great. As it has been 50 days from my first habit, forty days have passed on my second habit meaning its close to becoming ingrained and automatic behaviour.
there is no real temptation to stop these habits.
in fact manchester united lost their last two matches which i am sure in the past would have damaged my spiritual psyche but my life has taken on greater meaning in the last 50 days. am i upset they lost? of course - i have not become a robot. but if i had the choice to slip on even one of my new habits for just a day deliberately for no good reason to trade it for a manchester united triumph.. i feel i wouldnt do it.
back in 10 days.. hopefully with more positive news about my new challenge.
Wednesday 11 March 2009
Challenge Number Five
Readers,
It has been 40 days since my first challenge and i have successfully stuck to the first task of praying the morning prayer on time.
It has been 30 days since my second challenge and this has been obstructed slightly by the fact that i am sometimes at work due to my extended hours. still i have achieved it but am not altogether happy with regard to this but do not want to bore you with the details.
it has been 20 days since my third challenge and it is quite similar to the second challenge in that it has been challenging due to increased and unpleasant working hours but i have still pretty much done as intended.
with regard to 'prayers' and praying on time and prioritising it over internet and telly, as good as it is, it is also as much about quality as it is timing. praying at work under time and comfort restraints affects the quality... and perhaps i need to think of a challenge in the future to rectify this short coming in what the challenge was supposed to achieve.
with regard to the latest challenge of hoovering the house, i have hoovered on every wednesday and sunday but only once the whole house. in truth the whole house doesnt need to be hoovered twice a week and i think hoovering twice a week has achieved the three desirable effects sought:
i) house stays clean
ii) mother dearest has one less chore to worry about
iii) i continue to form good habits which will stand me in excellent stead for the rest of my life.
so with four challenges achieved, it is that time of the month to add on another.
i have opted to add on showering in the mornings before work as opposed to after work or 'in the afternoons' on days i work late so that i form a good routine of being up early and freshening up early. the challenge is to be in the shower by 9-15 am at the latest every day and shower before breakfast.
this will ensure that i am not snoozing till the latest time possible on working days and that i am maximising awake time on my days off.
i will be back in 10 days to let you all know how it went and what challenge i am setting out for the next 10 days from then.
till then, i wish you all peace and safety.
Mustafa
It has been 40 days since my first challenge and i have successfully stuck to the first task of praying the morning prayer on time.
It has been 30 days since my second challenge and this has been obstructed slightly by the fact that i am sometimes at work due to my extended hours. still i have achieved it but am not altogether happy with regard to this but do not want to bore you with the details.
it has been 20 days since my third challenge and it is quite similar to the second challenge in that it has been challenging due to increased and unpleasant working hours but i have still pretty much done as intended.
with regard to 'prayers' and praying on time and prioritising it over internet and telly, as good as it is, it is also as much about quality as it is timing. praying at work under time and comfort restraints affects the quality... and perhaps i need to think of a challenge in the future to rectify this short coming in what the challenge was supposed to achieve.
with regard to the latest challenge of hoovering the house, i have hoovered on every wednesday and sunday but only once the whole house. in truth the whole house doesnt need to be hoovered twice a week and i think hoovering twice a week has achieved the three desirable effects sought:
i) house stays clean
ii) mother dearest has one less chore to worry about
iii) i continue to form good habits which will stand me in excellent stead for the rest of my life.
so with four challenges achieved, it is that time of the month to add on another.
i have opted to add on showering in the mornings before work as opposed to after work or 'in the afternoons' on days i work late so that i form a good routine of being up early and freshening up early. the challenge is to be in the shower by 9-15 am at the latest every day and shower before breakfast.
this will ensure that i am not snoozing till the latest time possible on working days and that i am maximising awake time on my days off.
i will be back in 10 days to let you all know how it went and what challenge i am setting out for the next 10 days from then.
till then, i wish you all peace and safety.
Mustafa
Wednesday 4 March 2009
New beginnings Part III; conclusion
Readers,
this is the final of my three part grand re-opening of this blog.
to quickly summise the first two parts before i start might be helpful:
i) welcome back - sorry for long intermission. site is being re-invented and posts will be forthcoming every 10 days.
ii) the posts wil be seeking to share my experience of how i have handled a new challenge to myself over the last 10 days and what my challenge will be for the next 10 days.
iii) The last 30 odd days.
This is an idea i have had for a long time but only tried to incorporate it a day or two before january finished.
my first challenge was to wake up for the morning prayer for 10 days. it is something i have been doing on/off for the best part of two years with unfortunately probably more off days than on. in the past when i have tried to incorporate this habit into my life, i had tried to incorporate too many habits alongside it at the same time so that when i failed in one habit - the knock on effect would be stopping a whole bunch of habits.
i had great success with this.
then 10 odd days into februrary, my second challenge was to prioritise the afternoon prayer over watching television and surfing the internet. both these are huge time sinks which eat countless hours. i was wise enough it would be unrealistic to try to cut down hours spent on internet when i have nothing better to do..but wasting time on the internet is not bad if it is not prioritised over stuff i know is more important.
alhamdulillah - i was successful with this also.
then 20 odd days into february my third challenge was to prioritise maghrib prayers over internet and telly.
i achieved this also and am begining to feel it is becoming habit and eventually i should be able to instinctively turn the telly or comp off when it is time to pray.
at the start of march - i opted for something different. my mother is getting older and not as strong and active as she was - (naturally) - and she always nags me to hoover (which is fair enough) - but i rarely do it bcause she asks me at the worse times.. like when im having breakfast.... and by the time i finished what im doing.. i have forgotten. i therefore asked her how many times a week she would like me to hoover to which she said two. i then askd what days and she said sundays and wednesdays.
therefore on sunday i hoovered the whole house.... and today... i hoovered only what she told me to... ie the passage... the initial plan was to hoover the whole house sundys and wednedays... but i have strayed from that.. which i have no problem with... like i said... its not hard and fast... if the whole house needs to be hoovered twice some weeks.... i would do it.. and if sometimes it only needs a hoover every 10 days... i wont hoover.. but the motivation is there... i wake up on sunays and wednesdys now thinkin 'hoover day'.
this challenge will end on the 11th of march.. so after i have hoovered next wednesday... i will be due to add a new challenge/habit.
once the time comes, i wil be back to share what it is, what challenges i envisage and how i plan to overcome them.
till then, i hope its been as much a pleasure reading as it has been sharing.
keep the peace
this is the final of my three part grand re-opening of this blog.
to quickly summise the first two parts before i start might be helpful:
i) welcome back - sorry for long intermission. site is being re-invented and posts will be forthcoming every 10 days.
ii) the posts wil be seeking to share my experience of how i have handled a new challenge to myself over the last 10 days and what my challenge will be for the next 10 days.
iii) The last 30 odd days.
This is an idea i have had for a long time but only tried to incorporate it a day or two before january finished.
my first challenge was to wake up for the morning prayer for 10 days. it is something i have been doing on/off for the best part of two years with unfortunately probably more off days than on. in the past when i have tried to incorporate this habit into my life, i had tried to incorporate too many habits alongside it at the same time so that when i failed in one habit - the knock on effect would be stopping a whole bunch of habits.
i had great success with this.
then 10 odd days into februrary, my second challenge was to prioritise the afternoon prayer over watching television and surfing the internet. both these are huge time sinks which eat countless hours. i was wise enough it would be unrealistic to try to cut down hours spent on internet when i have nothing better to do..but wasting time on the internet is not bad if it is not prioritised over stuff i know is more important.
alhamdulillah - i was successful with this also.
then 20 odd days into february my third challenge was to prioritise maghrib prayers over internet and telly.
i achieved this also and am begining to feel it is becoming habit and eventually i should be able to instinctively turn the telly or comp off when it is time to pray.
at the start of march - i opted for something different. my mother is getting older and not as strong and active as she was - (naturally) - and she always nags me to hoover (which is fair enough) - but i rarely do it bcause she asks me at the worse times.. like when im having breakfast.... and by the time i finished what im doing.. i have forgotten. i therefore asked her how many times a week she would like me to hoover to which she said two. i then askd what days and she said sundays and wednesdays.
therefore on sunday i hoovered the whole house.... and today... i hoovered only what she told me to... ie the passage... the initial plan was to hoover the whole house sundys and wednedays... but i have strayed from that.. which i have no problem with... like i said... its not hard and fast... if the whole house needs to be hoovered twice some weeks.... i would do it.. and if sometimes it only needs a hoover every 10 days... i wont hoover.. but the motivation is there... i wake up on sunays and wednesdys now thinkin 'hoover day'.
this challenge will end on the 11th of march.. so after i have hoovered next wednesday... i will be due to add a new challenge/habit.
once the time comes, i wil be back to share what it is, what challenges i envisage and how i plan to overcome them.
till then, i hope its been as much a pleasure reading as it has been sharing.
keep the peace
Tuesday 3 March 2009
New beginnings Part II: The brief
dear readers,
as promised, i am going to explain how this blog is going to be reinvented and why.
for a long time in my own life i have been unhappy with the amount of time i waste procrastinating. often even when im watching telly or reading, i prefer to look at repeat material rather than fresh stuff.
i have ideas in my head of what would help make me a far superior human being than i am at the moment but have always found it hard incorporating these things into my life. they range from spiritual, to hygeine, to physical, to leisure and even pleasure.
i have recently learnt that to incorporate a new habit you need to be doing it for 40 days. i have also heard that an experiment carried out on two frogs bore interesting results:
i) the first frog was placed inside boiling hot water and it jumped straight out.
ii) the second frog was placed in room temperature water and the temperature of the water was slowly increased till it became boiling hot.. and the frog eventually was killed but it made no attempt to escape as it kept adapting to the slight increase in temperature.
i feel if i try to incorporate all the habits i want in my life in one day... i will fail miserably like a fish out of water or a frog in boiling water... but if i try to make one small change at a time.... it is much more likely to stick.
i also find 40 days too long to wait to add something new especially when the new habit formed could be something as insignificant as putting the toilet seat back down when i have finished using it.
it is for this reason i have chosen ten day gaps between forming habits. this way it takes 40 days to form the first one - but thereafter... every 10 days another one gets registered.
obviously 40 days is not a hard and fast rule.... but in a way its a good thing its not. after all while habits are useful in that they are done 'automatically' - who wants to live completely in auto mode anyway?
so having explained the brief, where does this site come in?
every 10 days i will write how my last 10 days have gone in the sense of trying to bed in a new habit, what my new challenge is for the next 10 days, any challenges to the attempted new habit and how they might be overcome.
tomorrow is the last past of this 'three part re-intro' to this blog in which i will talk about the last 30 days odd and the next 10 after which i will post every 10 days starting from the middlish of march.
peace
as promised, i am going to explain how this blog is going to be reinvented and why.
for a long time in my own life i have been unhappy with the amount of time i waste procrastinating. often even when im watching telly or reading, i prefer to look at repeat material rather than fresh stuff.
i have ideas in my head of what would help make me a far superior human being than i am at the moment but have always found it hard incorporating these things into my life. they range from spiritual, to hygeine, to physical, to leisure and even pleasure.
i have recently learnt that to incorporate a new habit you need to be doing it for 40 days. i have also heard that an experiment carried out on two frogs bore interesting results:
i) the first frog was placed inside boiling hot water and it jumped straight out.
ii) the second frog was placed in room temperature water and the temperature of the water was slowly increased till it became boiling hot.. and the frog eventually was killed but it made no attempt to escape as it kept adapting to the slight increase in temperature.
i feel if i try to incorporate all the habits i want in my life in one day... i will fail miserably like a fish out of water or a frog in boiling water... but if i try to make one small change at a time.... it is much more likely to stick.
i also find 40 days too long to wait to add something new especially when the new habit formed could be something as insignificant as putting the toilet seat back down when i have finished using it.
it is for this reason i have chosen ten day gaps between forming habits. this way it takes 40 days to form the first one - but thereafter... every 10 days another one gets registered.
obviously 40 days is not a hard and fast rule.... but in a way its a good thing its not. after all while habits are useful in that they are done 'automatically' - who wants to live completely in auto mode anyway?
so having explained the brief, where does this site come in?
every 10 days i will write how my last 10 days have gone in the sense of trying to bed in a new habit, what my new challenge is for the next 10 days, any challenges to the attempted new habit and how they might be overcome.
tomorrow is the last past of this 'three part re-intro' to this blog in which i will talk about the last 30 days odd and the next 10 after which i will post every 10 days starting from the middlish of march.
peace
Monday 2 March 2009
New beginning Part I: introduction
Dear Reader/s
apologies for the long intermission between this post and my last post.
as many of you will have realised, this blog has taken a few turns since it started.
it began a dailly thing and then stopped.
then it re-started on and off with a completely different tone... it was no longer heart pumping, adrenaline kicking pep talks.. but rather random tid bits i felt like sharing.
having spoken to one of my loyal readers... i have decided to start this blog again.
i am not going to have unrealistic expectations.. and make false promises such as writing once a day.
i will write once every 10 days...
there will be a couple of exceptions to this:
i) i will write tomorrow explaining what will be talked about every 10 days.
ii) the day after tomorrow i will be talking about my last 30 days and how they fit in.
iii) the next post should be on the 11th or 12th of march.. (which will again be less than 10 days) - but thereafter - it will be once every 10 days and if you are lucky... maybe the odd bonus post ;)
so as of now you can scream it from your rooftops... or your balconies... or for those a litte more shy... just text all the contacts on your phone books... random positivity is retrurning from the dead and is going to be bigger and better than ever.
lastly - this is a reminder for myself... remember if no-one reads or comments... this blog can always be used as reference tool/ diary/ journal for my own benefit.
peace out
let the good times roll.
The editor
(ok just me! - Mustafa)
apologies for the long intermission between this post and my last post.
as many of you will have realised, this blog has taken a few turns since it started.
it began a dailly thing and then stopped.
then it re-started on and off with a completely different tone... it was no longer heart pumping, adrenaline kicking pep talks.. but rather random tid bits i felt like sharing.
having spoken to one of my loyal readers... i have decided to start this blog again.
i am not going to have unrealistic expectations.. and make false promises such as writing once a day.
i will write once every 10 days...
there will be a couple of exceptions to this:
i) i will write tomorrow explaining what will be talked about every 10 days.
ii) the day after tomorrow i will be talking about my last 30 days and how they fit in.
iii) the next post should be on the 11th or 12th of march.. (which will again be less than 10 days) - but thereafter - it will be once every 10 days and if you are lucky... maybe the odd bonus post ;)
so as of now you can scream it from your rooftops... or your balconies... or for those a litte more shy... just text all the contacts on your phone books... random positivity is retrurning from the dead and is going to be bigger and better than ever.
lastly - this is a reminder for myself... remember if no-one reads or comments... this blog can always be used as reference tool/ diary/ journal for my own benefit.
peace out
let the good times roll.
The editor
(ok just me! - Mustafa)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)