Day 31: The Finish Line!

Whew! Thirty-one days later and I made it! I have successfully written more in the last 31 days than I have in nearly five years combined. 

 I also have watched nary a movie (although, I confess I did watch "All Creatures Great and Small" each week on PBS, and I may or may not have watched the Chiefs/Bengals game 😬) or eaten a single sweet in the last 30 days. I know that sounds like zero fun, but all of that feels like victory to me. I cannot remember the last time I have had a more productive month. I have gotten so much accomplished by reprioritizing how I was spending my time, and it feels great.

I thought this quote I came across in a daily newsletter I get reflected exactly how this past month went down for me:

If you wait until you’re motivated, you’ve already lost.

Surgeons don’t always feel like doing surgery. Teachers don’t always feel like teaching. Parents don’t always feel like cooking. Firemen don’t always feel like rushing into a burning building.

If you let motivation dictate your actions, inertia conspires to keep you in place.

Action creates progress. Progress creates momentum. Momentum creates motivation.

For so long, I had been waiting until I was motivated and inertia had been conspiring to keep me in place. I was definitely lacking motivation in so many areas of life, and not that I've cured it in 31 days, but I sure as shootin' am more motivated than I was on December 31. I have felt energized and refreshed, and that sense just kept growing day by day over the last month.

Now, the trick is to keep it going. I haven't totally mapped out how I'll handle things moving forward. I definitely don't plan on writing every day but hopefully it doesn't take me another five years to write an equivalent number of entries. (I'm glad I've done it, but I'm also glad this little self-experiment is over), I'll keep going with Whole30, but I'll let off the accelerator a little bit, particularly in social settings with other people. I do plan on watching a movie or two, but I don't want to settle back into old habits of just parking myself in front of the TV. 

So, here's to you, January! You were a pretty great boost to the system. February through December, you have big shoes to fill, so don't be jerks and ruin everything.