Consistency 10 Awareness 3

I am in a strange limbo. Since the beginning of April I’ve been in a non-stop travel pattern. Whether it was New York to spend time with my family, Dallas to find a new home, Rwanda to lead Babson’s Women Leadership Scholars, or Australia/New Zealand to honeymoon, life has been more non-stop and more in-motion than ever before. And now, post-crazy-travel-schedule, I find myself in a new world: Dallas, Texas.

As an admittedly routinized and consistent person, the lack of a daily routine (such as: gym > shower > breakfast) can take its toll. Settling into my new apartment has been a relief, in that it is a place where I will be staying for more than just the next few days or couple of weeks. Yet, settling in has also meant that I have new routines to establish, new routes to memorize, and new places to discover. (Don’t worry, we already know where to buy Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter and how to get to Bar Method.)

Recognizing the opportunity in front of me I have taken the time to integrate a desirable habit into my new day-to-day: Headspace. (It’s a meditation application, but they refer to themselves as “a gym membership for your mind.”) Back in the day I did Headspace’s 10-day challenge which was part of their free trial membership. I struggled to see the immediate benefit, but knew that meditating would be a good thing to do for my long-term health and well-being. So, I pursued the practice further. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I was inconsistent (for all of the reasons outlined above), but began thinking more and more about meditation, mindfulness, and the idea of being more self-aware.

In this strange limbo I’m mentally noting every action that I take and asking myself if it’s something that I want to keep doing (make part of a habit or routine) or change. And if I decide to change the action, consciously change it to be better - be it a more intuitive placement of an item, a more crisp presentation of something, or a more conscious seat at my desk. For example, I love that when I get back to our new apartment from the gym that I move through it efficiently and linearly: drop my gym stuff in our foyer, grab water from the kitchen, and then head to the back of the apartment to shower. On the flipside, I’m constantly adjusting the way that I fold certain items in my closet (since it feels like it is perpetually on display). With everything I’m doing, I’m creating a new element of a routine and am enjoying the luxury of this strange limbo to take note of my decisions.

However, this strange limbo will come to an end and awareness and consistency will have to take over. Headspace is a habit that I decided to integrate into my new day-to-day in Dallas, and therefore I have taken steps to create physical reminders for myself: extra headphones on a chair, a specific spot for meditation, a reminder on my to do list, etc. I am very aware of my personal goal to meditate for 10-minutes daily, now all I need is the consistency of a daily life, which I have sorely missed since April, to adopt my new habit.

Of course, I may not be able to meditate everyday, but it is my hope that with enough consistency that my practice will become something that I choose to do as regularly as I go to the gym. And given my track record with the gym, I think I’m already well on my way to making Headspace part of my daily routine.