Bad habits are like a comfortable bed,
easy to get into, but hard to get out of.
A Proverb

Ain’t that the truth! And I would add that
good habits are often hard to get into
and easy to get out of.

In September of 2019 I started the habit of going for a walk every day. Three miles was my goal and I usually accomplished it. Sometimes surpassing it by a mile. It was a bit of a push to get in the habit but I persevered and within a month I actually looked forward to the walk enjoying the scenery and the fresh air and sunshine and even the rain. Well, I didn’t walk if it was raining hard but if it was just drizzling I did.

Then summer 2020 showed up in all its glory. In South Carolina that glory is filled with sun and upper 90 degree temps…sometimes into the low 100’s. Add to those temperatures the 95% or higher humidity and it is difficult to walk several blocks let alone three miles. Even at 7:00 in the morning…or evening. So, in June I started walking a few days a week. Then in July a short, very short walk, a couple of times a week. In August I gave up and stayed home with the air conditioner on proving that good habits are easy to give up.

Then in mid-September I told myself I would get back to my daily walk of three miles. I sometimes did the three miles but most often it was more like two. October, November, and December were hit or miss. More days missed than hit.

Now we are in 2021 and I told myself it was time to get serious about walking again. Well, in the month of January I did a not so great 17 days of three mile walks. I tell myself that it rained a lot, but really no more than usual for January and rarely for the whole day. Yes, good habits once broken are hard to fix. Now it’s February. It’s a short month. If I walk just 17 days it will look better statistically than January.

Developing good habits and sticking to them is a pain in the butt!