Tag Archives: streaks

Starting a Streak

I’m trying to get a new streak going here.  I got derailed back in July, but now I’m trying to string some posts together and get my mojo back.

I’m also trying to get a streak going in my paper journal, which is a lot easier than this, because there I can be all sloppy but here I have to make sense, which is a big challenge for me, not to mention exhausting.

But it’s exciting to be contemplating  a new streak.   For me, here’s how streaks work.

When I say I want to start a new streak, what I’m really saying is that I want a core ritual in my life.  Back in the olden days I used to say I wanted to be “devoted” or “disciplined” about something,  but I’ve come to hate the word discipline.  It smacks of  rigidity and schoolmarmy-ness and there is usually a stick or a poker or chains or a straight jacket involved.  There is always discomfort, and frequently pain, and a good dose of suffering.

So to hell with discipline.

“Streaks” on the other hand are long strings of time when something magical is happening.  Like lucky streaks, or winning streaks.  Streaks remind me of shooting stars or fast runners.  Streaks are made of greased lightning.  They are a way of playing with time.

To start a streak, first you have to decide what you want.  The thing you want to make into a streak has to be something you add to your life, rather than subtract.

So for instance you can have a running streak or a yoga streak or a writing streak or a streak of taking a photo every day or performing an act of random kindness, or practicing the piano.  It can’t be something like quitting smoking, or drinking, or eating sugar, or any other kind of “going without.”  That’s a discipline.  It’s okay, and even good and healthy to do that, but don’t confuse that with a streak.

Once you decide what you want to “streak,” you have to decide the rules.  A streak doesn’t have to be an “every day” kind of thing, but it should be regular, and once you decide, you can’t change the rules.

So, for instance, I have an “every single day” rule for my paper journal streak, but for this blog, I have a “Monday through Friday” rule.  You want to make your streak rule realistic, but not too easy.  Streaks should test your commitment and be hard to sustain, but not impossible.

(To be continued.)

Streaks

I just got home from the studio, where, after Happy Hour Yoga, a bunch of us sat around ate pizza and drank beer and wine and watched a film called YYoga.

If you’re interested you can watch the trailer here:

http://www.yyogamovie.com/home%20movie/page18.html

I love these kinds of movies.  They validate my practice, they inspire me to practice more, and more deeply, and they make me want to learn and grow and become both a better practitioner and a better teacher.

I loved sitting in the lounge, surrounded by people who practice yoga, people who already get this, and laugh at the right places and see themselves in the people practicing on screen with drips of sweat falling off the ends of their noses.  It was like, “Oh yeah, I’ve been there.”

But that wasn’t the best part of the evening.  The best part happened in the morning, actually, when I checked Facebook and one of my yogarians posted this: “50 Day Streak!!!”

She didn’t say that it was a yoga streak, but I knew it was.  And I confirmed it with her tonight.  She’s been carving out time in her day for the last 50 days for some kind of practice.  And it’s lasted 50 days (so far).

This is the beginning of Tapas.  Creating tapas with yoga means starting a daily practice for even a few minutes at home each day. Instead of making excuses, it’s finding a way to work yoga into your life.

And this is what she’s been doing.

I’m into streaks too.

This is my 100th post on this blog.

This is the end of my 14th week of posting daily Monday through Friday.

Today was my 335th day without a miss of meditating with Holosync.

Today was the 55th day in a row I wrote in my paper journal without a miss.

There is something about living a life of disciplined practices that grounds me and elevates me at the same time.

The practices I am committed to tie me to them, and at the same time free me in all other areas of my life.  My practices make me confident.  My practices make me proud.  My practices make me trustworthy.  My practices make me authentic. My practices give my life ballast.

My practices give my life joy.

Onward.

 

 

Streaker

Turns out I’m a streaker.  (Who knew?)

Not me, but if the shoe fits…

Who knew that “streaking” would be the key to my MASSIVE self-discipline, procrastination problems??

I’m not talking about running around naked here.  (Though my college roommate was really big into that, back in the day.)

What I AM talking about is deciding to do something, and then, after about 10 days of it, realizing, “Hey, I’ve got a “streak” going here!” and then trying to see how long I can “keep it going.”  Turns out, I don’t like to break streaks.  And this simple little game is making ENORMOUS changes in my life.

My longest streak to date is 306 days.  I have meditated for 1 hour every day, with Holosync, for 306 days in a row without a miss, as of today.  I’m closing in on a 1YEAR with that. Whoah.

This meditation streak has inspired a blogging streak, and I have now posted to this blog 5-6 days a week for the past 9 weeks.  My thinking is this: Right now, I blog.  When I reach 300 posts, only then can I call myself a “blogger.”

I also have a “baby streak” started with my paper journal: 26 days without a miss of writing.

So, here’s what a streak is for me:

  1. A streak is something I ADD to my life, not something I take out.  So, for example, I could make a streak of adding 8 glasses of water into my day, but NOT taking out sugar.  Streaks are not about penance.
  2. A streak starts after day 10.  Before day 10, it doesn’t count as a streak.  It’s just a casual trend, an accident.
  3. As soon as the streak is well underway, my life is all about keeping it going.  Whatever it takes.
  4. A streak is a habit pattern that I keep going as a serious, but fun game.

I’m a streaker.  And it’s cool.  Stay tuned.