Put Your Paws On That Pause

Rethinking the streak

I have written before about how I’m very streak-motivated.

Nothing keeps me fired up to keep at a thing like seeing numbers go up. When an app tells me I have kept at a habit for 10 days non-stop, I have no choice but to try and make it 11 days. Nothing stops the streak, amirite?

Wrong.

Life, man. Life is constantly happening and evolving and side swiping you when you least expect it. And it is totally unrealistic to believe you can’t have off days.

Which was demonstrated perfectly with – off all things – a new update to my watch.

Way back in 2018 I wrote this post about closing your rings. It captured my admittedly intense obsession with closing the health rings on my watch – and I used it as an analogy for business at the time.

I chuckled reading that post. Because now Apple has delivered the option to pause our rings.

You can pause them for a day, a week or even till the next month.

The purist in me balked. Until you know, I fell ill. And I was going to lose my streak anyway.

Instead, I just paused them and picked up right the next day.

This is the realistic approach to a more balanced life, I think. Some days you will have no gas in the tank and will need to take five. And you take five.

It’s okay. Life happens.

The goal is always to get back in the fight and never let the pause become permanent.

So whether it’s your career, that thing you want to do or fitness goals you’re struggling with (like me); if you’re overwhelmed, take a pause.

Rings aren’t going anywhere. 💪🏽