What’s one habit that has improved your life the most?
About 20 years ago, I picked up a habit that turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.
I started exercising every day.
Not casually. Not aspirationally. Religiously.
Sometimes once a day. Often twice.
And here’s the thing. I didn’t always want to.
Actually, let’s be honest. A lot of days I really didn’t want to.
But somewhere along the way, it stopped being a question.
It became a given.
Like brushing my teeth. Like coffee. Like oxygen.
I just did it.
And that’s where the magic snuck in.
Because exercise didn’t just build muscle or stamina, it built discipline. It built perseverance. It taught me that feelings are often irrelevant to action.
Tired? Do it anyway.
Busy? Do it anyway.
Not in the mood? Especially do it anyway.
The first five minutes were always the worst. The last five minutes? Also suspiciously terrible. Everything in between? Surprisingly manageable.
At first, music got me through. Loud, motivating, borderline dramatic music that made a simple jog feel like a personal montage.
Now? True crime.
Nothing says “keep going” like a podcast calmly detailing how someone ignored their instincts and things went very wrong.
Motivation comes in many forms.
But what started as a physical habit quietly rewired everything else.
Because once you train your brain to “just do it” in one area, it starts spilling over.
Emails? Just do it.
Difficult conversations? Just do it.
Big decisions you’ve been circling for weeks? Rip the Band-Aid.
Done.
There’s something deeply liberating about removing negotiation from the equation.
No overthinking. No spiraling. No waiting for the perfect moment.
Just action.
And maybe that’s the real gift of a good habit.
It doesn’t just change what you do.
It changes who you are when things get hard.
You become the person who moves anyway.
Even when you don’t feel like it.
Especially when you don’t feel like it.
Categories: Leadership, Psychology, Culture, identity, society
psychologistmimi 
Exercise and sleep are great for everyone.
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Totally agree… It’s not just physical – it’s, dare I say – character building. Give that girl a cigar. You get my drift! 😎
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Every Move A Dance of Existence New
Indeed Dear Miriam What A Wonderful
Exercise of Living Exercise Is
A Beautiful Two Decade
Unfailing Routine of
Rejuvenation and
Renovation You’ve
Created You New
Indeed How
Sad Last Century
Exercise was considered
Low Brow for Only ‘Blue
Collar Brutes’ By the
‘Upper Class
of Ignorance’ Indeed
And Then Jack LaLanne
Came Along the ‘Father of
the Universal Weight Machine’
to delay the decay of Muscle Loss into Old
Age Perhaps Never as i’ve Surely Grown Three
Times Stronger at 66 than 53 as 1540 Pounds
Just Warming up at the Military Gym Does relate
Leg Pressing 12 reps versus the 500 Pounds Stagnate from
Age 22 Until age 53 Indeed Yet Now of course the Difference
24,096 Miles 154 Months oF Public Dance Creates in Epigenetic Change
Yes Spiraling all my Body Parts Gaining the Warmth Spread through
the General Metro Audience of Bystanders too yet true it all started
at 11 Years Old assessed as Too Androgynous Weak And Strange to Exist
in No Uncertain Terms by the First Baptist Group of Bully Boys Who Threatened
Verbally and Potentially Physically Yes by Spitting on me too that Boys aren’t Allowed
To SMile at the City Park
And in the Middle School
Halls Just for the Joy of
Existence and Learning
New
Stuff
Sadly like
that hell too
in a ‘Trump Town’
in 1972 Yes Literally
Called Hell at Origin
as the Folks Delivering
Pine to the Mill Town Were
Not Particularly Nice to Encounter
For
Real
Other Names
Came like ‘Scratch
Ankle’ For the Challenges
of the Thorns of Berry Bushes
Rich on the Blackwater River Bank
True Where i was Raised a Stone’s Throw
From the Railroad Trestle And True Back to
The Story of Exercise literally too Weak to
Mow the Thick River Grass to the Chagrin
of my Maternal Grandmother the
Matriarch of the Home helping
my Divorced Mother to
Raise Us as i played
The Piano and She
Warned my Mother
Be Careful He might
Turn out Like Liberace
As i watched in Awe from
The Kitchen Window As the
Painters Back When White Folks
Did It Efficiently Painted the Home
And my Grandmother Said What are You
Looking at those are Real Men Doing Work
Now to be clear my Maternal Grandmother Understood
the Reality of Life How the Strong With Grit Survive and the
Weak and Spineless Particularly in those Days of No Screens
And Keyboards Ruling as She Quit School in 9th Grade to Pick
Cotton When Her Mother Died of Breast Cancer Helping Her
Father to Raise her Two Sisters too They Went to College got
Great Jobs my Grandmother Got Divorced and Waitressed a
Decade Raising Her 3 Girls 12 Hour Days 7 Days a Week
Never Gaining an ability
to Drive also the
First Woman in
Town to Wear
Slacks Working
at the Parts Department
At the Local Car Dealership
to Fill in for the Men Who Went to War
as my Father Once Made Fun of the Peace
Sign as Chicken Scratch and Said Join
The Military
it’ll make Ya a Man
Okay so they Made their
Points and all i really wanted
to Do is Become Strong Enough
Where Someone Might Sit by me at
Lunch and i Might Get Strong Enough
To Mow the Grass and Rake Yards to
Please my
Grandmother
And Father too
i Dreamed About
an escape to an
Island With
A Dark
Haired
Girl Friend
Where No one
Bullied me for who
i was yet that was Yet
to come and Real Now too
So my Mama Bought me Some
Plastic Covered Concrete Weights
From K-Mart Spending Many Days
Supine on a Bench starting at 12 Years
Old Looking Up at my String Bean Arms
Trying my Best to Press The Weight up
on through age 13 close to 6 Feet tall
With a Growth Spurt at 120 Pounds
Yet Indeed at Least Tall
Enough Where
Folks left
me more alone
As i looked Stranger
Than Ever Then on
The Autism Spectrum
For that Challenge Yet
Hyperlexic with extraordinary
Reading abilities and Rote Memory
to ace Every Multiple Choice Test Apple
of the Teacher’s Desk yet Hated by the
others
even more
Yet This is No Sad
Story This is How i learned
to advocate for myself as i became
The Tennis Boy to Man For a Decade
The Bicycle Boy to Man For a Decade
And Then the Running Man for a Decade
Until 30 finally getting married to the Dark
Haired Girl on an Island of an Apartment
Secure
Enough
to Warmly Thrive
Indeed the Bowling Alley
Guy for the Military for
Close to Two
Decades
And Hell Man
Sort of the Devil
Within For 66 Months
Recovering from a Massive
Autism Burnout and General
Adaptation Syndrome with
those 19 Medical Disorders
Mostly From Chronic to Acute
Work Stress Moving through
5 Job Changes and Promotions
in the Last 5 years of Work Yep
Retiring Early to a Living Death
With Type Two Trigeminal
Neuralgia Yes Shut-in
my Bedroom For 66
Months the Worst
Pain Known to
Humans
From wake
to sleep that
for me no Drug Would Touch
Until Somehow i Wrote my Way
Into Recovery in Free Verse Poetry
“SonG oF mY SoUL” All 16.1 MiLLioN
Words Now for the Joy of Writing Instead
of Doing my
Best for
66 Months
to Escape the
Suicide Disease
One Variable Remained
From 12 Years Old until
66 Now Yes Resistance
Training Indeed Retiring
Financially Independent
Enough Where Now We
Hire Someone
Else to Mow the Grass
Hehe Just contributing
to the Local Economy as such
Yet there was that 10 Months in
1978 to 1979 Where First Love
Cuban American Princess
Said i was Hers
No Workout for me
That Was a Big Mistake
A Big Mistake Indeed
i Lost a Whole Lot
of my Ability
to Focus and
Pay Attention with
ADHD and Lost a lot of
The Confidence Exercising
With Weights Brings Yet True
Public Dancing makes one Fearless
With Zero Anxiety takes a few miles
and words until They All Become Holy
Dance
And
Sacred Song
Voila Now i
Dance And Sing Free
Yet No i don’t Mow the Grass
Yet every once in a while i touch it
with my Bare Toes at Least for Communion
With our
Real Mother
Earth that
Allows
Us to
Stand Upright…
And True no one
and i Do Mean No
One tales me i can’t smile now
For It’s True ‘In Hell’ Some Days
You Practically have to become Super
Normal
Just
to smile
So wonderful
to Do what i couldn’t
Even remember to Feel
Back In Hell Within For Real too…
Never Miss a Work-Out Unless
i Catch a Bug Like the One
That is
Currently
Running
Around hehe…
The Most Important
Lesson i learned Nature Rules
The Big
Boss
Indeed
LiVE iN Balancing Force
Or Fall Out of Orbiting Flow..:)
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