Creating Habits

When I was younger (don't so many of my blogs begin like this?) I thought I couldn't be a writer because I lacked motivation and drive.  And, while I did discover that I have a touch of ADD, what was really holding me back from fulfilling my dreams was that I lacked the proper writing habits.

I'm sure you've heard that every writer has to write a million bad words before they get to the good ones.  A writing apprenticeship can be a long, arduous process (unless your name is Hannah Moskowitz and you happen to be a freaking genius).  But in order to write those million words, you have to sit your but down and write.

Even when I only write crap, or I write parts of books that will never see the light of day, I write almost every day.  Maybe it's only for 20 minutes, but it's something.  I started doing it back at the beginning of this journal.  My goal wasn't to write every day, but over time, I developed the habit, and now I don't feel complete unless I write something for the day.

This year, I've decided to develop a couple of other habits.  I'm using an iPhone app called Good Habits.  Instead of setting goals (like running 3 miles every day), I'm just asking myself to go outside and walk daily.  Every day.  Maybe its three miles, maybe it's just to the end of the street.  I also want to create a habit to do something nice for someone else every single day.

Change takes time.  But it can be worth it.  I remember back to the start of this journal when there were days I sat down to write that made me want to throw my computer off my balcony.  Now, I can't imagine not writing.

What habits are you looking to create (or break)?

Happy New Year!  Here's to a kick-ass 2013 (otherwise known as the year of FML!)