As humans, we are pretty good at mourning endings and celebrating beginnings. In fact, books about change management often advise to do just that, to mark the transition from old to new, put the past squarely in the past, and chart out a new path forward.
But what happens on Day Two? Week Two? Month Two?
If we’re lucky, we still have momentum. OH YEAH I’M TOTALLY GONNA KICK SOME BUTT JUST YOU WATCH HERE WE GO. That’s right – I find a little self-psyche-up helps take on the self-psych-out. If we’re not lucky, the temptation to procrastinate rears its ugly head, and we have to fight through the desire for “do it later” instead of “do it now.”
Inevitably, we know that at some point in time, enthusiasm fades. (“Uhhh… what did I resolve to do again?”) Unformed habits become stillborn. Our brains resist extinction of the old ways and try to steer us back towards the comfortable, well-worn path we know and love. Bloggers like Steven Pressfield and Seth Godin often warn about this Resistance, this Lizard Brain, this reversion to the norm. It’s the enemy of progress. It’s a fake joy, designed to avoid discomfort now by killing a chance for future joy.
Let’s look to keep the joy going. Let’s define a new norm. Find that flow again. Refuse to let “Day Two” be “Day Minus One.”
