The mind, and therefore our outlook on life, is instrumental in forming our habits. The modern world often forces us in to a routine, some of which are important — say, brushing our teeth. But in a world where technology and automation free up increasingly more hours of the day, our down-time routines make or break our potential for learning and growth.
Let’s imagine two different potential routines. Each routine represents the post-work activities of a young professional.
Routine 1
Mindful of playing children, I slowly pull up in the alley behind my house, parking close to the gate. Mrs. CC doesn’t like it when I park this close to the gate, as she’s forced to shimmy through the now-narrowed opening. Never mind that, what’s done is done.
Upon entering the backyard, I find the wildly gyrating ass of my dog doing victory laps in the spotlight of the late afternoon sun-drenched family room. She begins her vocal howling tirade, and I’ve been long ago conditioned to respond with a bowl full of kibble.
Flipping on a light in the cool and dark bedroom, I toss aside my work clothes, and throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Back in the living room I can’t stand the brightness, deciding that the shades must be pulled down. I feels good to be inside with the air conditioning on full tilt.
Feed the Face
I go straight for the kitchen. Man, I’m starving. I pull out a bag of potato chips, grab a soda out of the fridge, and head for our slick new leather couch. There’s nothing really great on at 5:00 PM, but I’ll bide my time before Mrs. CC gets home to make dinner. The good stuff starts at 8:00 PM, and we’ll be fed and ready for more prime-time TV by then.
Hours pass. Two beers fade to three. We decide that we can’t be bothered with cooking on a weeknight, so we order take-out instead. We bring our greasy boxes of food over to the couch. Why bother sitting at a table in hard wooden chairs when the evening news is promising something we won’t want to miss?
The news highlights include a possible measles outbreak, a burglary gone wrong, and a fatal head-on collision. There’s something about China too, but isn’t there always? This day and age, what’s not to worry about!?
Sometime around 10:00 PM, I snap awake as I notice myself crumbling sideways on the couch. What time is it?? I look over and Mrs. CC is also asleep. Ughh, can someone just take me to bed?
“Hey Honey,” I say gently as I nudge her on the arm, likely interrupting a blissful REM cycle. “Maybe we should head off to bed. It’s a work night.”
Routine 2
It’s 2:30 PM, and I’ll be heading out for the gym in an hour and a half. I know I have a long session ahead of me, so I’ve thoughtfully considered my next course of action.
I enjoy a small, balanced meal, careful not to overeat. There’s no need to rely on purchasing something in a store, as I prepared this (and the rest of my day’s meals) ahead of time, days before.
Pulling out of the parking garage, I’m really not feeling it. It’s been a long day in front of the computer, and the last thing I want to do is prepare myself for battle. I could skip today. It’s not necessary. But I’ve been here countless times before: I’ll get warmed up, primed, and this will work out fine. Over the years I’ve noticed that my afternoon energy levels are no predictor of a good or bad training session. Onwards.
Mrs. CC and I have worked out a schedule ahead of time anyway. This is my night to be at the gym, and she’ll handle dog walking and minimal cooking needs. Of course, I plan to reciprocate on my rest days.
I made a plan, time to execute.
In the Gym
I spend the next two and a half hours with a focused plan of attack. I have my training plan, designed to target my weaknesses. If I have friends around, I exchange pleasantries, but otherwise keep the goal the goal. We’re all here for different reasons.
If I’m lucky, I feel fantastic and I can’t get enough. I could do this for hours.
But maybe I haven’t had enough rest or the stars simply aren’t aligned, now I’m struggling and feeling weak. Poisoned with self-disgusted rage, I’m tempted to put my fist through a table.
More likely though, things turn out somewhere in the middle. That’s ok, because today, like so many days before, I showed up. It takes constant reminding: this is a long game.
Back Home
Grabbing my tattered (full value) gym bag, I head straight home to join the family, enjoying the warm evening breeze through my driver’s side window. My veins are surging blood in an attempt to recover from the brutal endurance sets I just completed, my arms are dead weight on the steering wheel.
Once home, I excitedly grab some stew, being intentional to thank Mrs. CC for all she’s done while I’ve been training.
It’s a nice evening, so why not eat out in the yard? I grab a beer, and Mrs. CC pours a glass of red wine. “It’s getting a bit warm for red wine, eh?” But she doesn’t care, and I love her for that.
We spend the next hour talking, enjoying each others’ company. Maybe we go on another walk around the neighborhood. Phones are in the other room, out of sight. If the weather isn’t nice, we might watch a show for thirty or so minutes on Netflix, but that’s it.
Eventually it’s time for bed. We’re aiming for eight hours of sleep, so there’s no sense in staying up any later.
It’s a work night, after all.
So Which One?
Alright, alright. If you’ve been reading this site at all, you know Routine 1 ain’t me. Whoa daddy, that was actually painful for me to write, sort of my nightmare scenario.
But Routine 2 sounds sort of smug, huh? Who is this do-gooder? Who is this “well-balanced-meal-and-eight-hours-of-sleep-guy?” Well, I’ll be honest, this is the guy I strive to be. Do I nail it like this dreamy scenario every day and night?
Absolutely not.
There’s almost always something in that scenario that I bomb completely. To be honest, I’m so focused on training and climbing that I’m probably most guilty of not acknowledging the sacrifices of my wife. She’s a champion to put up with this sport as a non-participant.
Sometimes I rush in the door after a session and find myself internally frustrated to not see dinner on the stove. As if! What the hell is my problem? Why am I not more grateful of the sacrifices my wife makes to put up with this selfish obsession of mine?
And maybe that phone isn’t always hidden away. But I’m trying. And most importantly, I’m trying to find new ways to learn and develop every day. Not just as a climber, but as a person.
Back to Routine 1
What did you think of Routine 1? Sadly, despite numerous studies warning of the dire health consequences, this work-to-couch routine is far from a rarity. Now just because you don’t drink three beers or don’t always fall asleep on the couch doesn’t mean you are excused.
I know what you are thinking: “Alright Mr. CC, quit with your holier-than-thou crusade against television.”
Unfortunately I can’t do that. I’m deeply saddened by the fact that people take every available opportunity for conscious thought or even basic exercise (walking) and replace it with hours of mindless television. I really do want the best for people, and I realize that many people know not what they do. They do what they’ve always done, what their friends do, and what their parents intentionally or unintentionally taught them. There is no sense of individuality.
A Routine of Missed Opportunity or Growth?
Unproductive routines result in countless lost hours of opportunity to improve, learn, and grow. Folks sit comfortably in the proverbial armchair of the fixed mindset, believing that all the learning that was ever needed was over after high school or college. Perhaps some are still learning for basic job requirements, but take no other initiative beyond what is required to keep a steady paycheck.
You might be thinking: “I am who I am, don’t bother me.”
Nonsense!
The fact that there is an exploding movement of people who are up-ending their finances, owning their future, and even retiring early should show you that old dogs can be taught new tricks. We live in the same world as you; the world that tells you that money should be spent. We’ve simply reframed that “undeniable truth.”
But by embracing a growth mindset, a myriad of opportunities arise. Who knows, maybe it’s an entrepreneurial venture, or a new sport or hobby that captures your interest. Maybe you finally get around to tracking your spending and experiencing the unadulterated joy of watching your net worth soar. Perhaps it’s a combination of all of the above that provides a path to lasting contentment that we don’t get when we’re riddled with the debt of the “American Dream.”
What’s keeping you from learning? It might be your habits.
Building a New Routine of Growth Mindset
The problem with habits is that once we’re adults, good ones are hard to form and bad ones are even harder to break. If we have a tendency towards a fixed mindset, we’ll even get angry and defensive of our habits, sure that we’re not doing anything wrong.
There’s much that could be written on forming new (productive) habits and breaking old (bad) habits. The point of this post is not to lay out a framework for how to change habits — which can and should fill a book — but more a general awareness about our routines.
If you’ve filled your retirement buckets, quit eating junk food, and are in top shape — and you still want to watch five hours of TV — go ahead. However, if you are a human on this planet, I imagine we could probably get honest and say there are patterns in our habits and routines that are limiting at best, and essentially slow suicide at worst.
Spend today considering your daily or weekly routine. Where are you craving quick-fix entertainment or low-value distractions? If that time is reallocated to a new routine, what is important for you to change? Is it your diet, your savings strategy, your climbing performance?
Today isn’t a day for marked change, it’s simply a day for consideration and reframing. Could your routine use a makeover? The pieces will begin to fall into place from there.
Remember, the best laid plans mean nothing if you can’t take action today. Have questions? Need some feedback? Hit us up on the Contact page.
Thanks guys, see you next week.