This applies not only to the things you need to do, but also to the things you think you want to do. Maybe you think you should learn Spanish, but you haven't done anything to actually learn Spanish. Admitting that you're not really committed to the idea enough to do the work of learning Spanish can help close that loop. Letting go of the feeling that you must learn Spanish may be the thing that frees your mind enough to decide to do take up paddleboarding on a whim. The point is that the new year is not just a time to start something new. It's time to let go of things from the past that no longer serve you.
In many ways, this is the antidote to the ever-popular “Just do it” slogan. Just do it indicates that you should not think about it, instead of deciding what you really want to do or should do. Maybe spend some time remembering why you wanted to do this in the first place, and if those reasons no longer resonate with you, don't do it
If you like this idea, I highly recommend getting Allen's book. It goes into more detail on this idea and has some practical advice on letting go. You can still track those things, should you decide, years from now, when you're paddling the Sea of Cortez, that you really want to learn Spanish now and are up for the task.
Remember to Live
I'll admit, my enthusiasm Making Things has weakened over the years. Not because the system doesn't work, but because I've found my life improved dramatically by doing less, not more. It's not that I stopped doing things. It was that I found many of the things I felt I should do were not really my idea; these are ideas I have internalized from other places. I didn't really want to do them, so I didn't, then I felt guilty about it.
While everything I wrote above remains good advice for starting a healthy habit and maintaining it, it's worth spending some time and making sure you know why you want to do what you're doing. I read it again to Bertrand Russell In Praise of Lazinessand this line jumped out at me: “Modern man thinks that everything should be done for something else, and never for its own sake.”
In the case of habits, I think it's worth considering whether you want to start a habit because you love any habit or because you think you should because it will make you happier or healthier or more successful. Doing things because you really love them for their own sake is more likely to lead to success.
Do the Task
As one of my writing professors once said, to be a writer you have to park your butt on a chair and actually write. To be a yogi, you have to do yoga. To run, you have to run. There is no easy way around it. You have to put on your men's pants and do the job.
However, on the other hand, as Clear points out early on Atomic Habitsthe way to change who you are is to change what you do. “Every time you write a page, you are a writer. Every time you practice the violin, you are a musician. Every time you start an exercise, you are an athlete.” Every time you do the work, you are becoming the future self you want to be.
