Going Full Monk – 21 Days Left

So I have been battling through the perfect morning/night routine for a quite a while. I have always started each day with what I call the 365 commitment, and then create a list of what to work on each day. That list is somewhat repetitive, and over time I have gravitated toward a set list of things that I accomplish in the morning and the evening. The problem is that over time, I slowly allow myself to get complacent and the routine becomes weak and not as beneficial. I also get tired and start cutting corners, further reducing the effect.

I am going to go out on a limb and probably say that many people struggle with this as well. So I am contemplating this morning how to defeat this. I remember reading up on a famous Monk named Matthieu Ricard who has written a lot about his life pursuits. One thing he talked about frequently was leading a life of simplicity. Perhaps that is my problem. My life is far from simple. In fact it is downright complex. I wonder what is more challenging – finding a balanced life in the midst of chaos, or finding that balance in a peaceful setting and simple surroundings? I supposed that Matthieu would argue that you just cannot get to that place in a chaotic, hectic life full of material demands. Better to chuck it all and rent a small one bedroom apartment, own two robes and sit quietly on the beach all day and ponder the waves. However, that is NOT going to happen! Not with three kids, a demanding job, and a million other responsibilities.

So here I am, trying to find a path to tranquility in the midst of chaos. Trying to be mindful in the middle of an airport terminal, cuddling up to an interesting looking guy who is miraculously balancing a starbucks coffee cup, breakfast sandwich, cell phone, battery pack, on his Apple laptop while sitting cross legged on very uncomfortable airport furniture. This guy looks surprisingly zen in a very non-zen way. He is on a conference call, like the woman across from me. They seem to be having the same conversation. I wonder if they are on the same call together?

Anyway, is the quest for the perfect routine even possible, or even necessary? Maybe not. Maybe just getting things done is good enough, it does not matter the order of operations. The challenge with that is that it does matter. I am more likely to do pushups in the morning. When bedtime rolls around, pushups are just not that exciting. So there are constraints that you must take into consideration when planning out commitments. Am I over thinking it? Perhaps that is the problem – I just think too damn much! However the appeal to waking up first thing, and in a very efficient way, knocking out your most critical commitments, with every needful thing organized and ready to go. One of my frustrations is looking for something at 5:05am when all I want to do is get out the door for my morning run, but I cannot find a matching sock, or the batteries for the headlight, or whatever it is that I need. If I had a regular, consistent routine, then mapping out my needs to accomplish it would be much easier.

But then I have the days when I am traveling, or have some emergency, or a need to get some where in the AM. I have to borrow from routine time, or find myself in a condition where all the nice things that I need to accomplish my routing are not available to me. What is the answer then? Two routines? One routine that is simple enough that it can be accomplished anywhere? Or no routine at all, just free, but with a list of must dos? I have been back and forth between these three alternatives many times in the last 500 days or so. I have tried many ways, and it seems that gravitating towards a simple, single routine that I can accomplish anywhere and at anytime is the best. Now I need the commitment to do it and not lose steam in week 3 or 4. Which leads me to the final conclusion.

The mind is the problem. Which is why I need to go full monk. Not sell my house and head to the Himalayas monk, but rather the stop thinking and just do type of monk. Sure, I can think and ponder when appropriate, but during the morning routine sequence it is vital to overcome the thinking, rationale mind and do what I have set out to do. I have learned this power while running. On mile 18, when you still have a ways to go, you cannot let the rationale mind freely roam. If you do, you will rationalize your way into quitting. It is better to remain calm, think only at a surface level and overcome self and continue on until you reach your intended target. This is what some call the zone, but whatever it is, I need to learn to get there and remain there during the course of my routine.

Not sure how to accomplish this. I have some ideas, and I am going to practice them over the next few weeks to see if I can improve with this technique.

Guy Reams

21 Days Left to 1st Marathon