The lessons learned from taking on a good habit

Over the course of the years, I have learnt to value jogging because this is the time of the day where I can reflect best and come up with ideas. In fact, the idea for this blog post stemmed from this morning’s run. As I jogged and gazed at my childhood’s surroundings, I came to the realization of how this habit has taught me 2 important life-long lessons.  

It’s easier to give up, when you’ve convinced yourself that you’ve tried. 

Jogging has taught me persistence; when I’m jogging, there are moments where I feel doubtful about achieving the goal that I had set initially. I usually get these doubts in the early stages of my run. I start to get discouraged by the amount of work that still lies ahead and my brain starts to mess with me:  “You’ve already had to put forth so much energy in this first stretch, are you sure you’ll be able to make it?” My body parts start to ache and breath slowly starts to run out. 

These are the moments where my body is inclined to give up and stop. After all, I would still feel ok with myself because I would have at least tried. The fact is that neither I am tired, nor does my body ache. This internal battle is a result of the fear of underachievement mixed with an inclination to look for an easy way out because if your brain tells you that you’ve at least tried, you are more likely to give up. 

It is not the first time that I’ve capitulated to such thoughts, but most of the time I don’t. If anything, these doubts have taught me an essential lesson: If I do persevere, I will get a second wind. And this is the part of the run, which is the most fun and rewarding. 

Growth happens in small steps

When I started going jogging, I would often set unrealistic goals and get discouraged straight away when I failed to meet them. Time has taught me to be more patient and aim for the small accomplishments more consistently. In the last weeks, I’ve pushed myself to complete a 4-lap jog along my village’s perimeter. Today, I was tempted to go for 5 because that seems like the logical next step; however, knowing myself, it isn’t. Considering that each lap is a 2km stretch, I’ve decided to go for a more realistic challenge, complete only an extra half a lap today and keep this up next week.  In this way, I will be able to reach my 5 laps benchmark by the following week. Big goals don’t have to be achieved all at once; they’re more likely to happen if broken down into smaller stages.

Jogging has become a positive habit. During the scholastic year, I wake up at least 3 times a week at 4:30 am to go for my jog. However, I’ve always struggled to maintain this habit in summer because I end up sleeping in every day. This year, however, I’ve decided to make a conscientious effort to keep this up.  In my last post, I described jogging as a keystone habit, because it is the foundation block for me to have a healthy routine. In fact, when I jog consistently, I notice that I procrastinate less and I’m more productive. The process of adopting and maintaining positive habits can be long and strenuous; however, there is something to be said about the lessons learned. The iterations, the mind hacks, and the challenges all play an important role in one’s growth.  

Dolce far niente: Is it as sweet as the Italians would have us believe?

Photo by Umberto Salvagnin

Dolce far niente is an Italian saying, which refers to the pleasure one gets from being idle. Dolce far niente is an exhortation to slow down and embrace lethargy, which, as the term suggests, can feel sweet and delightful. In small doses, this can help prevent stress and anxiety; however, when done with no moderation, it can lead to apathy and inertia.

Ever since I was a kid, I viewed summer vacations as a time where one could totally switch off and embrace the dolce far niente philosophy. The pattern has always been the same: the first days of the summer bonanza felt great, but this would soon turn into slow, unending boredom. I’d go to the beach or play computer games, but, inevitably, by the second week of summer, dolce far niente would have lost all its appeal. Yet, I would persevere because, by then, it would have become part of my summer routine.  Growing up, I found ways to fill up my time such as doing summer jobs and reading, but even in my adulthood, I tend to feel rusty going back to teaching after such a long vacation. To make matters worse, during my Maltese vacations, I usually end up gaining more weight due to the bad habits such as binge eating and lack of activity.

This summer, I decided to make a change. In the Innovation Academy, both students and teachers had to take on one good habit for their month vacation. So I have committed myself to jogging and eating healthy. I’m usually able to maintain these good habits during the year, but it has always been quite challenging to keep this up in Malta; therefore, in order to push myself to embrace these habits, I had to resort to some mind hacks. For instance, I bought new running shorts, so that I would feel more compelled to go jogging in the morning. This time around, I also didn’t bring with me any baggy shorts or pants to push myself me to eat healthy.

A week and a half has now passed since the beginning of my summer vacation and so far I’ve been able to follow my plan; however, I’m having a hard time gauging my success with the healthy eating. Initially, I had pledged I’d eat healthy 5 times a week, but this is still too vague. So, I’ve made my goal more specific: I will eat fruit, cereal and vegetables everyday and limit my intake of fried, starchy food to twice a week. By cultivating positive habits and holding myself accountable, I will be able to have a more productive and healthier vacation.

Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg discusses the importance of targeting keystone habits. These are habits that produce a chain reaction that lead to even more positive habits. So, by taking on jogging and healthy eating, I’m hoping to trigger my reading and writing.  

Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, Malta

The answer to my blog post title is plain and simple: Dolce far niente can be indeed as sweet and delightful, but it has happen in moderation. It's always good to switch off for a couple of days, but in the long run one has to stay engaged to prevent apathy and inertia. Taking an evening dip in the Mediterranean, while relishing the orange sunset can be much more rewarding when you know that your day has been purposeful and productive.