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It’s Not About Routine, but About Practice
You don’t need to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, but you do need some building blocks for your life
In a world where everything is uncertain, where things are changing quickly, where chaos reigns, what we need is simple.
We need practices.
I’m not talking about routines. Although daily routines are important and many of us rely on them, the truth is that routines are fragile. Hasn’t this pandemic shown that? You’re no longer taking your kids to school, commuting to the office, or going to your favorite gym at your favorite time. All the parts of your routine that were triggered by those actions have shifted, like tectonic plates after an earthquake.
Practices are different. Practices are things you do regularly — perhaps daily, perhaps not — but in no particular order. They are things you return to, time and time again, to center yourself. To reset. To reconnect. To focus.
Waking up every day at 6 a.m. and watching the news while you have your coffee? That’s part of a routine. Prayer or meditation? A practice. Going to the 9 a.m. CrossFit class is a routine. Exercising regularly is a practice.
The difference is in the flexibility: One can be ruined by something as simple as hitting…
