The Art of Getting Hooked

How many of you are used to watching workout videos? Is it just me or anybody else also feels that the moment you start watching the video your motivation is skyrocketing? You find yourself floating in the clouds and daydreaming about the fit body that you’re going to gift yourself. Oh Snap! One minute into the video and the sense of realization hit you in the face that this isn’t your cup of tea. The rude awakening! The sweet bubble of your dream pops. It is so disheartening to be introduced to your reality that you feel the need to snack your way through the sadness. Voila! Did you gain another inch instead of losing one?!

Let’s talk about another situation. How many of you make new year resolutions to yourselves? Did you just silently agree? Well, you’re not alone. Even if you belong to the category who break them by the 2^nd January! I, for one, have made and broken at least a dozen of them by now. So, it is safe to speak that I totally understand how it feels to fail to keep a word to myself. I cannot even begin to count how many books I have left half-read, how many times I have gained weight instead of losing and how many web series I have left half-watched (the last one could also be true because the content began to worn out and I felt I was wasting my time, which is a win altogether but, never mind).

The point here is that all these things led me to wonder why I didn’t see through them when I had already overcome the phase 1 of making a move and getting started. The determination and motivation seem to be worn out with time spent and efforts applied. Did I feel tired, no. Did the priority of the task reduce, maybe? But something was wrong that made it lose its charm. That’s when I realized I wasn’t great at developing habits (too impulsive, maybe?) I began researching all about habit building techniques.

I came across a book that claims that it takes 21 days to build a habit. So here I was, day 1 of the workout session. Somehow, I forced myself to complete the 21-day period. Guess what, I gave up on the 22^nd day! I began to think that even self-help books are no help to me. So, I snacked my way through the sadness (gaining another inch instead of losing, again!)

This made me think deeply about the dynamics of habit building. Just like no two people are the same, one-size-fits-all approach to developing habit is also not “fitting” here. I wondered and spent days assessing my problem. A possible explanation was that maybe I didn’t fail, maybe I just lost focus. I finally knew what the problem was. I was beating myself up for not following my habit even if I skipped it for one day. This made me realize that it is okay to take breaks. But more importantly I should pick it up where I left off. And that’s what I did. After giving up on the 22^nd day, I started my workout sessions again. This time I wasn’t starting from Day 1, but it was my 24^th day of working out. That day I felt a newfound motivation. I was ready for what was coming next. And now, after 70 days, I have proudly lost 4kgs.

My journey from getting depressed by watching workout videos to watching the new me every day has not been easy. Initially I had to remind myself to follow the workout sessions. Now, yoga and HIIT sessions are a part of my life, a part which I’m truly used to. All in all, I can say that developing a habit will take as long a time till you’re not ready to let go the old version of you. This new life will have a special place for your habit. It will not be forced but will come naturally to you. On a closing note, I’d like to quote “Dr. Love” Leo Buscaglia, “If you don't like the scene you're in, if you're unhappy, if you're lonely, if you don't feel that things are happening, change your scene. Paint a new backdrop.”