“It’s OK to suck. It’s not OK to skip.” –Brian Johnson1
We’ve all been there. Too tired to have a “good” workout. Too stressed to have a “good” meditation. Too busy to write a “good” blog post.
These are all perfectly legitimate reasons to do a short workout, have a distracted meditation, or write a mediocre blog post. They are not legitimate reasons to skip.
The key to sticking with good habits is consistency, and the key to consistency is complete, total, 100% commitment to doing the behavior. But, you also have to give yourself permission to suck.2
I exercise every day, except for rare, my-body-needs-recovery skip days, but that doesn’t mean I get in a long or extremely strenuous workout each day. When I’m feeling really lazy, my minimum is just five minutes of exercise. That’s it. Or maybe I’ll lift weights for a half-hour, but I don’t really push myself. My workout might be totally lame, but it’s going to happen. As long as I stay consistent, I’ll gradually become healthier and stronger.
I’m fully committed to meditating every day, no matter what. When I’m sick, I still meditate. When I’m tired or anxious or scatter-brained, I still meditate. The sessions aren’t always “good,” but they always happen. As long as I stay consistent, I’ll continually increase my mental health and mindfulness.
I publish a blog post every week. Sometimes, I write long, in-depth pieces, like my articles on willpower and self-efficacy. But when I’m busy, I just write short pieces on single, simple ideas, like the fact that, if you do something good for you, you won’t regret it. As long as I stay consistent, I’ll steadily improve my writing and reach more people.
What habit are you trying to build right now? Are you giving yourself permission to skip? If so, don’t. Instead, give yourself permission to suck.
1 Johnson, Brian. “How to Avoid Habit Suicide.”
2 This is yet another facet of permission to be human.