Research has shown that it takes 21 days for a person to create or modify a habit. I hit day 21 yesterday, and I must say I have absolutely no desire to get back into my car. Take this for what it is worth, but not driving has done me a world of good…it is as though I have taken a deep breath and have mellowed myself out. In trying to put my finger on the exact “mellowing” effect my carless commute has had for the past 21 days, I was able to break it down to 15 minutes.
What is fifteen minutes to me? Fifteen minutes is half of my typical lunch break, the incremental spread on the time clock for payroll at work and the amount of time it usually takes me to get really annoyed if someone is late. Now, 15 minutes has morphed into the amount of time between busses on my route (I have had to wait those 15 minutes plenty of times), the length it takes me to ride about 4 miles on my way to work, and about how much quality reading time I get on the bus each time I ride. Specifically, 15 minutes is the amount of time that used to stress me out, and no longer does.
How much time will that reduced stress add to my life? Maybe 15 minutes? Maybe 21 days? Maybe more…maybe less. Either way, I won’t be wasting 15 minutes worrying over it...
What is fifteen minutes to me? Fifteen minutes is half of my typical lunch break, the incremental spread on the time clock for payroll at work and the amount of time it usually takes me to get really annoyed if someone is late. Now, 15 minutes has morphed into the amount of time between busses on my route (I have had to wait those 15 minutes plenty of times), the length it takes me to ride about 4 miles on my way to work, and about how much quality reading time I get on the bus each time I ride. Specifically, 15 minutes is the amount of time that used to stress me out, and no longer does.
How much time will that reduced stress add to my life? Maybe 15 minutes? Maybe 21 days? Maybe more…maybe less. Either way, I won’t be wasting 15 minutes worrying over it...
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