DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN by Pennie Hunt

​Today I hit 600 days of meditating daily. No missed days. I have been meditating for almost 20 years, but this is the longest consecutive number of days for me. Or maybe I have, but now I track it daily, so I know for sure. Meditating is something I do. Something I make time for. Something I prioritize.

I found a little app that I put on my phone called, Don’t Break the Chain. I’m not promoting this app – there are many to choose from, I just use this one as an example. It gives you the option of making calendars for things you want to track. I have a meditation one and a workout one. It is so simple. Every day that I meditate I mark an “X” on that day. Each added “X” creates a chain. I have not broken the chain for 600 days. (I will disclose that my workout chain seems to be broken often.)

I like the app because it is simple, easy, and quick. It is one click to mark an “X.”  When the chain becomes long, I don’t want to break it. It is a visual that works for me. It is private and no one sees my chains.

Here is why I believe it works – Because I am not competing against anyone else. I am not comparing myself to anyone else. I am just tracking my actions. If I cross 5 workouts this week, that is better than the four I crossed last week. If I only cross 3 on a busy week, I will push to be better the next. And once I see a long stretch of “X’s” I want to keep going. I don’t want to break my chain.

The mistake we often make is comparing our goals, dreams, and accomplishments to an unreasonable standard. If I cut out photos of the top female bodybuilders or models and put them on my vision board with the expectation of reaching the same physical success that they have- I will fail. They are probably 5” taller than me, have trainers, have a different body structure, are younger, have different lifestyles, and have different time commitments. Trying to compare and compete with them is not going to work.

Did you read the first paragraph of this writing and decide that you need to keep up and meditate for the next 600 days like me? You may have a different way of dealing with stress and creating peace in your life. You may not have the time and commitment to meditation that I do. Trying to compare and compete with me and what works for me might not work for you.

Here is something that might work – compare your progress to your past self. How well did you do last month, last week, or even yesterday with your workout program, your meditation, or whatever you want to improve on? If you made progress that is great. If you did a small backslide, try to do better than you did yesterday.

No one should expect to reach a point of perfection. The kind of perfection we see on photoshopped magazine covers and television advertisements is unattainable. Being envious of someone else’s perfect body, perfect habits, and perfect life is a waste of energy.

Use that energy on yourself. Forget pursuing perfection and begin improving a little at a time. Can tomorrow be better than today? Can we mark another “X” on our progress? Can we keep the chain going?

I believe the answer is, YES!  Whether you begin tracking your meditation, your workout, or how much you read, it doesn’t matter. Become a person who makes crossing that “X” important. Make it something you do. Something you make time for. Something you prioritize. With every “X” the chain becomes stronger and so do you. 
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                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                      Don’t try to be perfect, just try to be
​                            a little better than the person you were yesterday. 
​                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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#CornerofSpiritandBrave #loveyourlifenomatterwhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt  #IAmGoodEnough
YOUR TURN...        
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                                                                 Thank you!  ​
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