Year of Living Without 2024 (Update)

I pulled back up my post from January and was disappointed to say that I’ve failed them all.

I still don’t drink soda often, however, I’m far from having done without it in 2024. My nighttime wind down reading habit goes in fits and spurts. I’ll stick to it for months and then one night will use my phone to do something and that becomes the pattern for weeks until I yank myself back to reading. The shame is that I enjoy reading more and know it. While my device usage in the bathroom isn’t constant, I make excuses. I have a short break between calls for work and need to catch up on personal email, so I’ll use it. Honestly, it’s disgusting on more levels than one.

What I recognize is that while it is great to build habits that last more than a month by doing without, I’m not quite ready to say that being inspired by 30 days of something is enough to make it stick for ten times that amount of time. Beginning in November, I’ll take it back to what I know works. I’ll start with these 3 habits, but will outline 2025 with more monthly themes like I did in 2023. Writing about them also seems to help, so that will continue.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll reiterate that these are not resolutions. I don’t think those work for most people, present company included. I do think that themes and exercises form protocols and habits. That’s what I’m after and where I hope to increase stability and consistency. I don’t know what my themes for the next 12-18 months will be, but I’m beginning to think more about it and I have some ideas. Most of them center around the blending of zen and stoic philosophies. Leo Babauta wrote a great article recently on this blending.

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