Keeping It Going Is Easier Than Starting It Up!

Consider carefully the cost before quitting a good habit — you may never get it back

Just like pushing a stalled car, it takes a lot more effort to start a habit than to maintain it. I know this from experience. The inertia that keeps that car motionless is like the concupiscence that keeps us moving in the most self-destructive patterns and unproductive habits.

The longer you’ve practiced a habit, the easier it is to maintain it.

I’ve been using my treadmill daily since 2017. The only three days I missed were when a tornado shut down our power in 2018. When I’m sick, I get on for five minutes at a much lower speed. In 2017, I’d start at 1.5 mph and peak at 2.5. Now I start at 3.3 mph and peak around 3.6. My usual workout is for 20–30 minutes. If I’m tired, I may do only 15.

Skipping it is simply not an option because I’m afraid I’d never get the habit back if I let it go. That happened to me with another habit that I let go of. It took over 10 years to get it back..

The hardest habit to gain is the one you quit practicing.

I started Weight Watchers (WW) in April 2002. I tracked my food faithfully until the summer of 2007. That was five years during which I lost 35 pounds! My spiritual director suggested I stop doing it–that it was no longer necessary. My single…