habits — The Honest Closet

I survived the first week with students and contrary to previous beliefs, 4th graders are not terrifying. I thought my personality was better suited for teaching older students, but I must say that so far teaching the younger ones has been awesome. I have a smile plastered on my face constantly and I feel positively - dare I say it - peppy. And I think I know where I've found the energy to be like this.

I do not shy away from my addiction to coffee. I've started my mornings with the good stuff since watching Lorelai and Rory practically guzzle coffee at Luke's Diner in every episode of Gilmore Girls. I've been a faithful lover of coffee for more than 10 years. I've fed my addiction and spent God knows how much at Angelina's and Heine Brothers and Starbucks and Hillside Café and countless others. But now I can honestly say that I've found something that works even better.

When I arrived in Uppsala almost a month ago, I bought a monthly bus pass and a bike. I thought I would use the bus for commuting to work and the bike for trips around town. But after just a week, I was annoyed by the bus. I didn't like being at the whim of its timetable and the 750 SEK (about $90) wasn't a selling point either. The 7k ride to work intimidated me, but the bus annoyed me more. Late last week, I hopped on my bike at 7am and I haven't looked back. I thought I'd get to work sweaty and disheveled, but the mornings have been cool and I bring toiletries and a change of clothes. Since last Thursday, I've biked more than 60 miles and I bet that's further than I've gone in my 24 years combined. (Sorry Mom and Dad for all the bikes you bought me that I didn't fully appreciate and that I didn't notice were gone when you gave them away...)

Anyways, here's what I love about biking to work in no particular order: I pass by Carolina Rediviva, the largest library in Sweden, the Uppsala Castle, built in 16th century, and the stunning Botanical Garden. I get an hour's worth of exercise (and endorphins!) every day. I have to be alert early to navigate cars, pedestrians and other bikes, contributing to the "better than a cup of coffee" wide-awakeness that I feel. I'm getting a nice pair of thunder thighs and a butt to match. I make up for all those times I drove two blocks in Louisville. And I have the energy to keep up with 10 year olds.

Come the dark and dreary mornings of December I'll be riding that bus without complaint, but for now I'm happy on two wheels.

I wrote the last blog post (and first of this blog...) almost two months ago. I had a plan, or at least a vision, for this blog, but I certainly did not have the writing habit. In fact, it's been more than two years since I've written anything at all outside of my job and my graduate course work. It's a shame, really. So much time when I could have been writing the Next Great American Novel or entertaining the masses with witty essays or thoughtful blog entries. Oh well. And that's the end of the "what might have been" talk. Now, let's talk habits.

Last week, I finished Charles Duhigg's fascinating book, The Power of Habit. Duhigg examines habits from the lens of individual routines and their potential to impact corporate or communal habits. I'll save the business part of it for another day, but I want to discuss something he wrote about willpower that has stuck with me: Willpower is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, we can exercise and strengthen it. For example, the first time we log off Facebook and pick up a book may be tough, but the more we make that choice, the easier it becomes. In a study on willpower, researchers found that "...as [participants'] willpower muscles strengthened, good habits seemed to spill over into other parts of their lives" (Duhigg). When I read that, I wanted to scream out, "I want that! I want good habits!"

This all sounds quite obvious, I know, but I think so many of us are hard-pressed to take that first step, that first, difficult display of willpower. I've got a laundry list of skills I want to master, ways I want to spend my time, habits I want to develop. The life I want to lead is one filled with goals made and goals achieved. If I focus on just one goal and make it a habit, perhaps the other habits will fall into place. Actually, not "perhaps" - they will fall into place! Science says so. So here goes it, habit numero uno, the first domino I want to set in motion: I want to write every day, here or elsewhere, just write, write, write. On that note, I'll see you tomorrow.

- EM