Isn’t It Ironic?

“It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife.” Alanis Morissette’s lyrics from song “Ironic”

Last night I was reminded that God is doing for me what I cannot do for myself, including not possessing the ability to open this dreamy container filled with coffee-flavored smooth and creamy goodness.

Let’s set the record straight right here and now.

I don’t know if the ridges on the plastic lid were more pain than I wanted to endure or the lid was superglued onto the plastic container, or what.

I do know that I attempted several times with a dish towel to pry that sucker open and was unsuccessful each time until it finally dawned on me… Oh, maybe I’m not supposed to eat this tonight because I’ve already binged enough on salty snacks to qualify as a full day’s worth of calorie intake.

Followed by a morning of determination to run more and post less after receiving recent sage advice from my lifelong friend “Chad” and my new friend

.

Which is more difficult — to build a healthy habit or to break a bad one? According to an AI overview:

It takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit, though this can range significantly from 18 to 254 days depending on the individual, the complexity of the habit, and the surrounding context. The common myth that it takes 21 days is inaccurate and the time needed to make a habit automatic can vary widely.

Ironically, AI provided the exact same answer for how long it takes to break a habit. All I know is that I’ve maintained the one mile a day one for a few years now ever since I started listening to The Mindset Mile podcast, which in total transparency I haven’t listened to in a long while.

But I did listen to it long enough to build that awesome healthy habit! However, now that I am trying to replace the urge to create and post daily reels on IG with jog/walking longer distances, I’m finding it challenging.

Don’t get me wrong it could be way worse. I’ve definitely had to break much more harmful habits in the past, which quite frankly I could not have done without the help of my *Higher Power.

Even though I did not accomplish my goal of covering a longer distance this morning, I did try something new. Rather than listening to the usual playlist curated by Spotify, I chose to listen to my eclectic collection of “liked songs” instead.

It was quite a mixed set!

Let’s sample some of the profound lyrics right here in the power of NOW:

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, ’cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very
Mad world
Mad world
(Mad world lyrics by Tears For Fears)

The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had… To be perfectly clear, I am not suicidal, but I identify with this lyric because I know deep down in my soul, I am not truly home yet.

I am a sojourner in this world.

The next liked song in my set this morning was this one:

I’m divin’ in, I’m goin’ deep
In over my head, I wanna be
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow
In over my head, I wanna go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide
The river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m divin’ in

(Dive lyrics by Stephen Curtis Chapman)

If you truly know me, then no explanation is needed for why this song resonates so deeply to the core of my created being. Regarding healthy habits, I miss this ONE [swimming] terribly.

Perhaps this is the day I will revisit it.

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NIV

The next song on my playlist was this one:

The Blue Danube (An der schönen blauen Donau)

I told you my liked song list is eclectic.

The significant changes in mindset/mood/tempo between each one of these songs was markedly notable. This last one provided a perfectly timed calming peace-which-passes-understanding cool down piece as I returned home from my brief (hopefully habit building) run inhaling and exhaling deeply to the beauty of this precious moment in time.

On the one hand, I did not accomplish my goal of completing a longer run. On the other hand, I was successful in denying the temptation/foothold to stop to record an IG Reel or YouTube Short halfway through the morning jog with the aid of my *HP.

So we celebrate the small victories today!

I did, however, capture this quick “mindset mile” self-portrait for the purpose of this essay, demonstrating the solid fact that I am still a work in progress when it comes to building healthy habits and breaking bad ones.

Drinking coffee, for example, is not even on my radar as a habit to break at this time.

Which habits would you like to build, break, or replace?

P.S. I reserve the right to post a YouTube short or IG Reel later haha.

And ironically I’m already thinking about my next essay about the narratives we write for our own lives from “victim” to “role-model”, “sinner” to “redeemed”, “Accomplished” to “Humble Servant”, or from “nobody” to “child of God” … the mindset we choose is up to us!

How would you describe your primary role in one word? (That’s a tough one!)