Pardon my brief hiatus. I’ve been waiting to write about why we stop our routines, just to really figure out some ways I have done it. Routines are great, we need them in our lives to keep us consistent, purposeful and just motivated in some way. I have talked about the importance of having a daily routine but my love/hate relationship with my routine has really caused me to wonder. Why do I just stop so abruptly? I love some of the things I do in my routines but I’m amazed at myself as to why I quit, because they are needed. Let me list a few reasons why we(I) stop our(my) routines and see if any resonate with you.

•Time, time, time gets in the way. It’s either my morning alarm gets later and later, so I end  up missing my morning routine. My bedtime routine has gotten later because I have had more going on, so my focus on finishing things, takes me away from focusing on numero uno. We can add in all these different aspects of our life (interpersonal relationships, work, family time, etc) that need our attention but we also forgo continuing to make time for us because of all these obligations.

•I don’t want to sit back and think things through. You know at times when we have a plan on how we want to accomplish a routine, we get ourselves ready for how we will go about it. We can plan things out a few times and then we just STOP. It’s really about making sure that you continue to plan out how you will keep a routine, taking stock of what’s working and not. Then, it’s just how you will make sure you put things in your routine that work for you at any stage of your busy life schedule. Things will happen that will take you off track but its about how you plan for those moments so you can still hold yourself accountable.

•I think, “it’s helped me manage what I started the routine for so why do I need to continue.” This issue comes up all the time and for us to continue to feel those positive vibes around us, it’s continuing to do what works. You don’t want to lose sight of this. We can’t just stop a good thing because it’s served it’s purpose, it’s continuously working at it and focusing on that routine to make sure you master it. You want it to become a part of your life so you can always look to it. Even if you don’t feel like it, it becomes ingrained in you that this is a part of you, this is a part of your self-care that you can’t do without and it needs to be done to make you feel like you would like to at any moment in your life.

•There’s something about the word ‘consistency’ that my psyche doesn’t gravitate to very well. Committing to certain things, especially a routine is my weakness.  I really think that stems from not feeling like I’m deserving of certain things at times, so that mindset can carry over to things like keeping a routine and doubting my own abilities. That’s a different topic on another day but its a work in progress.  Once I get the flow of things, I know I need to do something to change-up what I’ve been doing and I think that just comes from my fickle nature, but I’m working on it. I say all this to say, it’s about knowing that you can be consistent, you are worthy of making yourself happy, you can stick to things that work, you can have a continued routine that you appreciate, it’s just about having that confidence in yourself that you can do this. This isn’t like other scenarios, you couldn’t stick to, this time things will be different. Know what things can get in the way of being consistent and have a plan.

I don’t have to tell you how important is to keep up a routine but identify what gets in your way and plan accordingly to show yourself that you can stick to things you put your mind to.

Thanks for reading once again

Alvie