Everything was going great. You were in a great routine practising much of what you preach. Then, you took a break for a day. 1 day turned into two, two into three and before you knew, you were in a rut. You suffered a setback. Now, you want to get back on track. But, it overwhelms you! Your old routine was perfect and to go back to it is a big challenge.
You’re not alone. Everyone suffers a setback
The first thing that you should know is that you’re not alone. Even the best performers go through a rut. Everybody faces a burn out once in a while. And if you think about it, it is natural, unless you’re a robot. Once you understand this concept, it is easier to bounce back to your good old routine that you were proud of. This allows the guilt to come down to manageable levels.
Remember your WHY?
All of us are motivated to start a habit, a hobby which allows for our personal growth due to a very compelling reason. In the long run, we kind of forget this so called compelling reason. This reason which was non negotiable at the time, now feels like a weak force, if you remember it at all.
Start by reminding yourself why you started a particular habit. Make a pros-cons list. Once you do this, some motivation comes back. You see your logic for starting and its hard to argue against your logic.
Start Small and then scale quickly!
Suppose you had a well established routine consisting of 5-6 amazing habits for your personal development.
When you are trying to get back on track, do not try to get all the habits on track at once.
Start small.
Practice 2 habits on day 1, 3 on day 2. Day 3-4: you will be back in rhythm and should be able to execute your entire routine. By the end of the first week, your routine execution should be flawless.
The idea is to start small but to scale quickly. Do not practise only two habits for a week, unless you want to feel like making very slow progress. If you have suffered a setback and don’t want to suffer one more, start small, scale quick.
What are your favourite ways to recover, if you have suffered a setback? let me know in the comments.
