Day 339.
I cannot recommend “Atomic Habits” highly enough. My favorite non-quit lit book in terms of remapping our thinking and habits and systems for success in the AF life. I previously quoted, “we do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems,” which has me really paying attention to and refining my existing systems for staying AF, for working out, etc.  And now this stopped me cold, as this is EXACTLY me:

“The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us. The outcome becomes expected. And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.”

Yes, me! 1000x ME!!  I, like presumably a lot of you, am a huge novelty seeker. I get bored and restless very quickly, and I get irritable when I get bored. So, I’ve had to keep changing things up throughout the year to avoid derailing my progress, as I quickly think, “read quit lit again?  REALLY? A f-cking bath and a cup of tea AGAIN? ARGGH.” I go to work out and get annoyed by the same playlist or exercises and need to quickly shift it all out or I’ll just stop working out for a while. 

Now, of course, nearly a year in and having tried so many new things, I see AF life is so much more varied than life when I was drinking, which had become quite routine (although I would then drink to blot out the boredom). I rarely get bored now, as one new activity leads to another new activity or idea, and I’m back to feeling like I don’t have time to fit it all in. I need to be careful not to overwhelm myself, but I am definitely never bored.

For everyone concerned about upcoming holidays, I especially recommend the book, as you will get your systems in place, so you don’t have to rely on an excess of willpower to power you through. There’s also helpful stuff in there about becoming the architect of your environment instead of the victim of it by designing your systems in alignment with your goals.

Life is now full of novelty. I promise if you keep going you will find the same. If you are cursing your green tea and bathtime, know that there is plenty of adrenaline, FAR MORE adrenaline-fueled experiences, in the AF life as well.