Day 16: Outlasting Quitter’s Day

Day 16, Ah Day 16.  Here we are.  That’s slightly beyond 2 weeks.  According to this article from the UK, that’s longer than most people’s adherence to their New Year’s Resolutions.  The article sites a study by a running app called Strava (which I haven’t used), saying that by January 12th most people start to give up on their new commitments.  Hence the term “Quitter’s Day.”

I have not been tempted to pack it in with this blog, but since starting this 365 Day Blogging Project there have been some weird thoughts supplied by my oh-so-brilliant brain.  Here are a few of them:

  • “You’re a musician.  You should write about music.  What is wrong with you?  Why are you writing about all this other personal stuff that no one is interested in?”
  • “Are you sure you want to bother people everyday with more thoughts of your briiiilliance?  What makes you so special?”
  • “What if somebody objects and thinks it’s stupid?  Are you sure you want to subject yourself to that risk?”
  • “Are you crazy?  People going to see how crazy and neurotic you are?  You really should just stick to teaching piano and performing, and putting out nice piano pieces like a good piano playing boy.”

That last one is especially grating.  There’s nothing like being a full grown man living with a brain that can resemble that of a scared parent admonishing a five year old on his first day of kindergarden.

And yet, I persist.  Here we are, Day 16.

For the record, I have outlasted Quitter’s Day before.  New habits I have cultivated include reading in the mornings, exercising multiple times per week, composing daily, and even doing the dishes at night (Ah, the simple things. For the record, I’m sure I have failed from time to time to master new habits…maybe that’s why I value the ability to build new habits so much).  What I have found is that the more you can cultivate a new habit, the easier it is to create others.  You develop a track record of success in this area.

Here’s to cultivating new habits.  I hope you too can outlast Quitter’s Day.

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