Keep trying

“Make it as easy as possible to start, and hard to not start.” –Harry Che

Sunday, June 16, 2019 – Morning Pages

I’m having trouble with two habits — or rather, developing two things into habits: daily writing, and having a green smoothie every morning. I want to make yoga a daily habit too, but I’ll just stick with the first two first.

If I want to be a prolific (or at least productive) writer, that means writing every day. The trouble, as every writer knows, is the getting started part. But the solution is straightforward: first thing every morning, open the laptop and start typing, doesn’t matter what you type. Getting back into Morning Pages should do the trick for me. It’s a habit I’ve already established, though I’ve let it fall by the wayside. But it’s easy to start up again anytime (like right now, et voilá!)

Green smoothies: better than anything else I’ve tried, they defeat my cravings for sugar and carbs. So I need to have one for breakfast every day to keep me on track with weight loss (22 pounds gone so far, yay!). But making them is harder to do than picking up the laptop. A lot harder. Prep and cleanup is such a chore in this van with no real kitchen and no running water that I’m starting to dread the whole process. How can I make it easier?

Last night, I hit upon one easy solution: go to a smoothie bar. It probably isn’t much more expensive, if at all. I even found a couple of places nearby. (That’s a big advantage of being back in San Diego.) But I spent a LOT of money getting enough solar/batteries/wiring to be able to blend and refrigerate in the van. Seems like a waste not to use them. But right now, I’m fed up with the whole process so until I can get a better kitchen (with running water) in here, I think I’m gonna go with the smoothie bar.

Now for yoga: Doing yoga inside the van is limited by the space. I can almost stand up, but not enough. I can do sitting yoga but again, limited by space. I found daily classes nearby for a donation, but the photo online showed a class full of young, athletic-looking people. That was intimidating. It didn’t look like ‘gentle’ or beginners/seniors yoga at all, and I haven’t practiced in years. I need to start small. I could just take my yoga mat and do my own routine outside, damn the observers. I just need to find a secluded spot, not that easy in the middle of the city.

I thought of one place, at a park where I used to hang out during the day. There is a covered picnic area with 8 or 10 tables in a circle. I was going to do it there, but a woman on a bike rode up to one of the tables and took it over. I was suddenly shy. I waited for her to leave but when she finally did, my resistance was back. I didn’t do it. Still, it’s the best place I can think of. The parks are crowded today, what with Sunday AND Father’s Day, but they’ll be nearly empty tomorrow.

Did you notice? So many buts! That’s a pretty good sign of resistance, BUT…

…one thing I’ve learned in the nomad life: just because something doesn’t work or goes wrong the first time doesn’t mean it won’t work eventually. You just have to keep trying.

And I guess that’s true of writing, yoga, and smoothies–or whatever you’re trying to start. You just have to keep trying.