Hello from Day 23.
My 2018 commitment to daily practice has revealed a few things:
- I have consistently put myself at the bottom of the list for so long that I think it became a habit.
- Yep, I am working to break that habit.
- Keeping my promises to myself is important …and it helps to do those tasks early in the day.
- Planking sucks.
- To clarify, the way I am doing planking sucks.
About five days ago I noticed I would wake up each day, look at my task list, and wonder, “Is this the day I fail at the plank thing?”
The “plank thing” is one of my 2018 goals, a last-minute add-on to my daily list (which you can read all about here.) The problem is not the daily task of it, the problem is the groaning reality that by adding on one second every day it gets harder and harder and harder until eventually I will fail.
And it was through this mounting dread that I came to a new realization: The purpose of my daily goals is to encourage consistency, not to win a planking competition. Right now, I need practice and motivation to become more consistent in taking care of myself. This goal of piling on myself more and more every day until I fail is OH MY GOD IT’S A METAPHOR FOR ALL OF MY LIFE.
Alrighty then!
So, I will continue my daily plank for January and then in February I will shake it up. Planking will move out of the third spot on my Daily Commitments List, and a five-minute (or better) stretch/yoga session will take its place. I need to take care of myself right now, not dread my personal tasks. You know?
And then in March… who knows. Maybe I will add daily flossing or daily dancing or daily meditation (don’t hold your breath on that last one, though) (hah hah, breath, get it?)
What I can tell you is that it is Day 23 and I have done 23 consecutive Duolingos — my longest streak ever! — and I have completed 23 walks of at least 10 minutes each (so, at least 230 minutes of walking, go me!) and I have held my body up in a weird frozen push up state for 23 days in a row.
And I have kept my promise to myself for 23 days and that feels awesomeeeeeeeee even if the plank is a muthaeffer.
5 comments
I think you are wise to shake up the planking thing. Selecting a new activity each month seems like it would be fun. Maybe pushups one month, situps another. I need to work on strengthening my core (I’m a horseback rider) and I’m thinking about doing something similar
Good for you, showing up every day! A short Pilate’s routine might be a cool thing for your third space at some point.
The thing about these personal goals is that they are personal… no one will come after you if you change up your planking routine. Right now I am loving telling people about my 30-seconds-a-day fitness regime of planking and mean to up it to a minute for February. But beyond that… who knows.
Laurie, I’m one of those people who followed you on the old blog (your comments on your “About Me” page made me laugh out loud, remembering!), bought and loved your books, and I’ve been following you on Instagram since before your Hallowe’en trip. I finally cozied up to your new blog and decided to read it like a novel, from beginning to now! As other folks have said, it was like catching up with an old friend after a long absence – it made me so happy in all kinds of ways. I love how cute you and the Captain are, I love that you’ve rediscovered sewing (I am so with you on that – I was the girl with the sewing machine on her desk all through college!), and as I think I commented on your Insta one time I love how you are so generous in sharing your travels with us all.
I also love your actual writing – your way with words, your flow, your humor and also your seriousness (that One Blog Post took my breath away…). I’m so glad I get to know you, in a completely non-creepy internet sort of way! Looking forward to hearing about all your adventures, especially sewing and cats. Also my favorite sewing foot is the free-motion foot. That one’s my boyfriend! 🙂
My “Strong Women” class instructor always tells us that push-ups and plank pose are the best exercises for getting stronger and we should do both every day. (I don’t currently but am trying to get in the habit of doing them while my 10-year-old is getting ready for bed.) Just a thought…you could keep planking with no time goal…just doing it every day (for any amount of time) is a success!