My morning routine became my worst enemy this week
I'm like an animatronic at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride—A light switches on, and I do the same thing every damn day.
I don't feel like Captain Jack Sparrow most days. I don't wake up hungover and aimlessly stumble into an adventure.
I'm more like an animatronic at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride—A light switches on, and I do the same thing every damn day.
I wake up early, read for an hour, write for an hour, and go for a run.
I love it. It serves me well. It's my sacred time.
My routine didn't serve me well this week.
Something big came up at work, which restricted my routine. That made things even worse. I got frustrated. Scared. Worried.
By Thursday, I felt depressed.
I think it's time I reconsidered this whole routine thing.
I mean, what's the point of a routine that destroys you when it's no longer available? That doesn't sound helpful.
Because things change. Murphy's Law—anything that can happen will happen.
It's the great irony of self-improvement. We work hard to create structure but don't consider what happens when the chain breaks.
My dad recently sent me Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power. Guess what? law number 48: "Accept the fact that nothing is certain, and no law is fixed,” he writes. "The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid as water."
There's nothing sacred about my routine. I'm not a superstitious minor-league baseball player who needs to wear his underwear backward to feel comfortable. That's not discipline. That's insanity.
Discipline comes in adapting and flowing with your routine as the tide flows a beachfront.
My routine serves me well now.
I like it.
But I'm preparing myself for the day it changes.