Most people, myself included, are prone to falling out of routine when even the slightest variable in our lives change. Gyms are closed? Oh, guess I can’t workout. Need to work overtime at the office? That’ll be exhausting, let me cancel my plans before so I can rest.
We tell ourselves these things because our minds are always looking to default to what’s easiest and most comfortable. In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield refers to this defaulting force as “Resistance” – a nameless, faceless force that everyone experiences. As it turns out, the more we give in to Resistance, the more easily it persuades us in the future.
On the contrary, the more often that we can stand against this and do the things we know we should, the easier it becomes to overrule that internal monologue telling us to do the opposite. This can play a significant role in the routines that we build and the overall balance of our lives. Instead of dropping habits each time a new one comes in, we can battle Resistance every day to ultimately make our routine decisions easier and easier, finally coming to a place where we can embrace the uncomfortable and become the master of our own mind.
The more we practice this, the less obstruction we will face in doing the things we know we should do, giving us the power we need to keep the rhythm of life steady.