Never skip day 2.

How many times have you tried to create a new habit or practice in your life, only to drop it after a week or so?

Probably hundreds of times, right?

You’re not alone! I’ve done this more times than I can count.

And when I reflect on my failure to keep that new habit or practice going, I tend to dive deep into what happened. Was it just a dumb goal in the first place? Why can’t I make myself do this thing I want to do? Where is this so-called willpower I’m supposed to possess?

These are all great questions, and quite frankly, I have very few answers for you.

It appears to be part of the human experience.

But what I can tell you is that I was almost 50 years old before I heard this idea of never skipping day 2, and it changed my approach to building new habits and practices.

It’s pretty simple, really. We can take a day off from our new diet, meditation practice, or workout routine, but if we take day 2 off, something strange happens that makes it so hard to get back into our routine!

Starting a new practice is largely about creating momentum and then staying in that momentum.

But if we skip day 2 we are creating a new momentum. The momentum of NOT doing the things we wanted to start. And every day after that of NOT doing the thing creates even stronger momentum, which is harder to escape from.

So, don’t skip day 2.