What Mel Did
What Mel Did - Nike gold sneakers

A Hard Habit To Break

I read somewhere that a good habit is as hard to break as a bad one.

My morning habit is to rise about 4.30 am and faff for about 15 minutes before eventually leaving the house for a 2-hour walk. It helps I am a naturally early riser, but I need to start this early if I’m to get a walk in before work.

And walking before work has become a wellbeing essential which helps me cope with the working day. Everything, not just work, becomes less problematic after this morning workout – or “walkout” as I have coined my morning antics.

There is, of course, the release of endorphins during exercise – the feel-good hormones released into the brain and nervous system boosting mood and lowering feelings of depression. Endorphins can also act as an analgesic, which diminishes the perception of pain and even act as a sort of sedative. This is not to say I believe you should be high or sedated to cope with life and the 9-5 but, as Tesco says, …every little helps.

Joking aside, I believe my morning habit works to keep my own wellbeing balanced because it is time I gift myself. And maybe it is this gifting of time which has become the precious commodity in modern living.

Certainly in the past, when I was raising children and a husband, any time alone was hard won. Even without those family dynamics today, I still lead a very busy life and it can be hard to find space in the day when someone isn’t wanting something from me.

But the joyous part of waking up before God? Ain’t no-one wanting nothing from you at that time in the morning. Endorphins or not, this is my real high and why I will resist suggestions of walking, say, after work when any number of people are then happy to join me.

A little anti-social, yes. However, my habit of being pro-me for two hours a day is how I am able to be “Melinda, the people person,” for the rest of it and, thus, a hard habit to break.

5 comments