The celebration of a new year brings several comments that speak volumes about their speakers. "I haven't showered since last year!" Okay. Alright. Interestingly enough, the first day of the year usually marks something special to people. I find it puzzling. Folks suggest it's the best time to start. Forget about the first for a sec, what were we doing the last day of the year? I told myself, I don't need resolutions, I need to keep going. One percent better every day adds up to something, and I wanna prove it.
I'm not sure how to manage it, but the latest chapter in Atomic Habits suggests commitment devices. Not like wedding rings or hand cuffs, no. When that West character still made music, it's rumored he locked himself in a room, making three beats a day for a summer. Or one beat a day for three months, who knows. A commitment device is a choice you make in the present to affect your actions in the future. Some people leave their wallets at home, for example. I carry cash, to mitigate card spending.
I don't know, but each day's gonna be better than the last.
Graffiti emblazoned under bridges, atop so many daring heights, I ask myself how they do it. A commitment device strong enough to send you to such lengths for your art? I could use one. After all, I have some ideas I want to picture in reality. For the new year, for one, I ate oranges. The fruit's thick skin seemed to teach me patience and persistence. I labored with my thumbs to lift the porous peel, slices veined with juice of the blood orange underneath.
I suppose this year will be like peeling an orange, or even onions. Go slowly, but never backward. There will be layers to uncover. I might even cry, getting something in my eye. Yet the prize won't just be the end. I think over everything I earned- the strength, the attitude's all important. I am excited to learn again what it means to picture people, write words. I want to push the limits of my focus. See my city as a focal local, not tourist. BAM, finish the titles I'm enjoying in books, anime and manga. Game the grinding it takes to catch 'em all and hit all my shots. The last and first aren't the stars of the show, this I know.
Post Summary
- Automate your habits. Invest in technology and onetime purchases that lock in future behavior.
- Commitment devices are choices you make in the present that control your actions in the future. Think of the friend who never has their wallet. Doesn't cost much, right?
- Increasing exposure, I can continue monthly musings, every day in various series in my life. The Focal Local is a neighborhood walkthrough. BAM are written reviews of different media.