PLGRM

James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits

A habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you optimize.

Back in May I contracted COVID for the second time. MY first bout was in June 2020 when we knew next to nothing about the virus. I would n’t say this time was a cake walk, but I would say it was a far milder experience than it could have been. Even so, it knocked me out.

Up to that point, I had been running 2 miles a day and doing yoga for about 20 minutes after that. I was in fairly good shape, I felt stronger than I had since the pandemic started. Since my latest bout with the Rona, I’ve struggled all summer to get back to consistent exercise, to quality exercise, to feeling strong.

About 7 weeks ago, I decided to do something I had done in the past: I was goign to follow a “Couch to 5k” running program.

It was a stretch for me to do so. At one point in my life, I was running 18-25 miles a week, and my time splits were admirable for my age. Going all the way back to basics was, I knew, what I needed to do, but it was also humiliating. 7-8 weeks to get back up to speed? Surely I could cut that in at least half, right? But I had tried that earlier in the summer, and it didn’t work.

I needed to back up, slow down, and develop a consistent habit that both my mind and body recognized. I need to, as Clear writes, “standardize before you optimize.” I’m now running some decent splits that tell me I am well on my way to my goal of strong running.

Zen philosophers call this approach “Beginner’s Mind,” leaving aside everything you think you know and starting from the beginning. According to Zen, this is how we should approach every aspect of our lives.

What would your life look like if you applied this to a few things? I bet it would change everything.

I bet you would love it.