My 100 Day Practice Challenge. First Baby Steps

It’s January again and you know what that means.  Time to put your money where your mouth is and start slaving away at all your resolutions.

Personally I have never found that resolutions work too well for me.  I can’t bear that feeling of failure when yet another resolution bites the dust and they all do, so I personally avoid them.  I prefer something kinder.

So, this year, I’m not resolving anything.  I’m starting a good habit, the habit of regular practice.  Habits tend to last longer than resolutions. They just require a little bit of gentle effort to instill, but they’re worth it in the long run.

Sadly, a damaged shoulder and left hand have stopped me from practising the viola for a good now, so I am taking up a challenge of practising daily healthy exercise.  To make it easy for myself, I’m doing Our Grand Practice Adventure, just to prove that it can be used for creating any good habit. I’ve already downloaded the first 10 days, signed the 100 Days Promise and chosen my Practice Record Chart from the resources folder.

Lets get this straight. Our Grand Practice Adventure isn’t going to change my life over night, or transform into an instant practice wizard.  I am going to come out of it, doing what for me is the perfect amount of good quality daily exercise.  Visualizing the end result is fun and motivating.  Whenever I remember, I take a minute to think about how great I felt last time I was in good shape, what fun it it is to walk up all those escalators on the London Tube watching jaws drop as those standing watch a 70 year old beating them to the top,  how easy it is to get things done around the house, and how happy and pleased I look.  Ooh, I can feel it bubbling up inside me right now.

To help me to remember to do my first practice of the day, I have linked it to putting on hand cream which I do first thing in the morning.  The smell of rose petals wafting around in front of my face is so delightful, that I really look forward to exercising.

This link has been so successful that I am linking all practice sessions with a regular daily activity and writing it on the weekly schedule, from the resources folder. This, I display on the fridge door, so that I have a visible reminder.  It’s important to link the activities as seamlessly as possible.  You don’t want to practise procrastination and at beating yourself up about it.

If you, and/or your children and students would like to join me in a Grand Practice Adventure, I’d love it.

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