Creating basic routines is something than many parents try to do for their children so they develop healthy habits. Things like bed time, brushing teeth, eating at meal times, and daily bathing. These routines are things we don’t give much thought to as adults, it is just part of what we do, often without even thinking about it.
Many adults find it difficult to begin (and stick with!) new routines, especially if the effect of the routine is not immediately seen or felt. Think about the benefits of exercise, weight loss, or writing your memoirs – all of those are efforts that require diligence and daily practice if they are to pay off. Yet many of those old routines are the same way, without daily practice, the results fall away. For instance, without daily rest, you immediately feel mental fuzziness and physical sluggishness. The only way back is through resting, and maintaining that practice.
Let’s look at how this works for your adoption. I have shared many times that I worked on my adoption an hour a day, then I put it away. I did this every day diligently. Sometimes my hour was the same as the previous day, others it was vastly different. Some days it was focused on what I needed to do, others it was more about what I wanted or felt like I could do. Happy or sad, empowered or defeated, I worked an hour a day.
Here are some examples of what I did:
- Hung flyers around town
- Networked with people I know
- Home study paperwork
- Revise my Dear Birth Mother Letter
- Took new photos of our home
- Read about adoptive parenting
- Worked on a baby quilt
Yes, that last one is worked on a baby quilt. Sometimes, I just needed to do something to keep my hope and spirits up. Something to remind myself that this journey was indeed a journey that would take time and effort. And this worked for me. Now obviously, if all I had done every day was work on a baby quilt, I might never have adopted, but we all have days that we may not feel it, and that is the day to switch it up and spend your time in hope and remembrance of what you are doing.
Tony Robbins practices a morning routine every day, he calls it ‘priming’. Every morning, he says he devotes 15 minutes to getting ready, getting grateful, and getting focused. No matter who you are, the routine can be a powerful motivator and driver for whatever life journey you are pursuing!
P.S. Here is a video of Tony Robbins talking about his priming routine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x21jdC_vrwI
