Habits, Practices, and Routines

For several years now, I’ve engaged (on and off) in the blogging world with mid-lifers and retirees — many of whom tout the spiritual, emotional, and physical benefits of establishing habits and practices. Throughout these years, I’ve prided myself on the fact that I am spontaneous and buck the very notion of routines and schedules.

Kathy Gottberg’s — at SMART Living 365 — has a great blog from the end of March 2021, about creating practices wherein she quotes Seth Godin:

A “practice” is something done intentionally. You decide to do it yourself, or you decide everyone in your office will do it (if you are the boss). If you keep doing it, it may become a “habit” or may not. So, a “habit” is something you routinely do, without ever deciding to do it.” While a habit may be a good one or a destructive one, our practices point out what we believe and back it up with our actions about what matters most to us in the world.

Per usual, Kathy Gottberg’s post got me thinking. And while I was crafting this post on habit and practice, today she shared a vlog inviting us to ponder what it means to live like you were dying — inspired by a Tim McGraw song. The post reminded me of a Kris Allen song of a similar name.

Most of my life, I believed I would die young. As I’ve gotten older, the “thinking I’m dying” tapes can still…