Habit is the path

Catalina Popescu
Sep 7, 2018 · 2 min read

I’d never had a goal. I’m also in a good company. Jason Fried, founder&CEO at Basecamp said he’d had none too. He took what life threw in his way and did the best he could with it. Repeatedly.

Having no goal means I need a plan, a strategy. For me, life itself strategize, too. One day a read about Tim Ferris’ low-carb diet and I decided, practically on the spot, that it will work for me. Me, who ate and drank whatever I fancied all my life. Me, who hasn’t practice any sport, didn’t any workouts. But, who just started to run for a few months, only to stop shortly after on an ankle sprain. And, you know what? It did work for me! In just 3 weeks I managed to adapt my eating and drinking habits to the rigor of the diet. In 3 month I lost 10 kg, and, in another 2 months — recovering for a tibiae fracture — I was periodically going to swim and doing workouts. And I lost another 2 kg.

So, I have this strategy: keep your diet, it makes you feel great; do your swimming and exercises, it helps you to become fit; move on in confidence.

And it’s effortless because it does not require volition. Practically, no act of will is used in practicing this habits. That’s the beauty with habits — they don’t solicit your limited reserve of will. They are quasi-automated gestures. After a while, your body learns the drill and even enjoy it. Break the pattern and you’ll miss the pace, the rhythm, the joy; the feeling good in your skin, in your mind, in your self-esteem.

We are creatures of habit. And with a very good reason.

Catalina Popescu

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Imperfect perfectionist.