The temptation to skip a day

In perfect and consistent conditions, forming a new habit is pretty straightforward. If you lay out running shoes and clothes the night before, you're much more likely to follow through with that morning jog. But what happens on the day when it's pouring rain? The days where a wrench is thrown into the plans are the best ways to see whether the habits you're forming are built from sand or stone.

On Christmas Day I really didn't want to make a post on this blog. I had other stuff going on, my routine was off, I just wasn't in the right mindset to write.

I could have easily skipped that day. Told myself it was a deserved break. It's not like anyone else was keeping score, that my readers would notice or even care that I missed a day.

But I imagined myself two weeks from then, looking back, and seeing that missed day. And realizing then that getting something posted, even small, really isn't asking much. And really, it's a test of willpower—if I disrupt the routine, can I still get across the finish line?