Better habits equal better outcomes.
So if something is not where you want it to be, you have to change.
Change what you do.
What you think.
What you feel.
It’s so much easier said than done.
We’re supposed to know what habits lead to better endings.
But the “experts” keep changing their habits.
So many experts, so much advice on what to do and who to avoid.
And even tips and tales from old wives and old men don’t always hold up.
My grandfather swore by kerosene to treat wounds in the woods.
At least until you could scrub it out with Gojo.
Or Lava soap.
A big green bar that smelled like grease and work and abraded like sandpaper.
It was always on the rack in the deep sink in their laundry/mud room.
The soap, not the kerosene.
He kept that half full in a five gallon metal can in the garage.
In the same place, out of habit, I bet.
He had a heart attack in his early 50’s, and the doctor told him to walk every day.
Once he recovered.
And he did.
A new habit he started.
Which carved fifteen pounds off his already slim frame.
He kept at it though.
Changing the way he ate and what he ate and what he did after he ate.
And cleaning cuts with kerosene right up until the shakes started.
He watched a few friends die from Parkinson’s Disease and he was afraid of it.
So of course he got it.
I think it made him sort of give up and wonder about all the habits he adopted.
None of them changed the outcome, which was six feet deep in a brown casket.
You can’t look at it like that though.
Otherwise, no habit, good or bad, is really worth pursing.
Because, except for vampires and maybe a few highlanders, nobody lives forever.
Every single person in the world, rich, poor, black, white, brown, or tan ends up exactly the same way.
And no habit is going to change it.
Which brings me to the best habit to cultivate.
Maybe the hardest.
Live.
Now.
I keep working to remind myself that all that really exists is this moment, which could be made better by some changes made in the past.
And not worrying about the future so much, except that how you live now can have an impact on your present then.
If that makes sense.
Take me.
I want future me to be twenty pounds lighter.
I’d like to be a little taller in the future too.
But only one is realistic and the things I do right now can have a big impact on future me.
I could stretch more to stay mobile.
I could run more to get lighter.
Eat better and less of it.
I could learn more skills to be better prepared for the future.
All habits I can start today.
Instead of getting mad at myself for ignoring the things I knew I needed to do five years ago.
Like saying I want to learn to play the banjo.
If I started picking when I said, and practice just twenty minutes a day, five times a week, I would have hundreds of hours of play time.
If I kept running like I did in the past, today I’d have the miles and maybe waist I want, instead of planning today for a tomorrow that hasn’t happened yet.
And had I done what I wanted five years ago in Pine Bluff, then maybe the way it is today would be different.
Saving. Investing. Building a business. Building relationships.
A lot of stuff that kept getting put on a list or put off until there was more “time,” or “money” or bandwidth.
All of which could have been done with better habits.
Just little things and steps that lead to the outcome we want.
Then, in that future present, we have to decide if the outcome is better.
All the while, not sacrificing all the moments now, for then.
It is a delicate balancing act.
One I hope you do better than me.
What are some habits you wish you would have started or started earlier?
Go grab WITCHMAS and make the Marshal of Magic a habit!
Then check out LA GUMBO to get your mystery fix.
EPIC SCI FI AND FANTASY GIVE AWAY
FREE BOOKS MYSTERY THRILLER AND SUSPENSE
You are subscribed to the free version of 9AM.
I hope you find some inspiration out there.
If you’d like to upgrade to the paid version, you’ll get access to exclusive content, including even more free books, excerpts and snippets. Your support is awesome.
Hopefully you’ve been enjoying the newsletter and seeing the hard work we put into curating the best content we can. Maybe you’ve learned about a fun event, met new friends, found a new favorite business, or discovered a nonprofit you can rally behind.
If we’ve added value to your life, we wondered if you might return the favor by joining our Fan Club for $10.
MYSTERY THRILLER FREE BOOK FESTIVAL
TREASURE OF DARKNESS FREE BOOKS
Everyone has "if only I had done this or that " moments but sometimes it's never to late to start