SSDD? No, Different Day, Different Stuff.
January 6, 2009
Yesterday I got up and hit the ground running. Today I got up and hit the ground. Face first. Metaphorically, of course. It’s just been one of those days so far, ya know?
I envy consistent people. They move along at a fairly even pace – awakening each day to the same process, facing the morning with some sort of well-practiced routine that gets them up, showered, dressed, and even exercised in some cases, long before they have to engage their brains and settle in for a day’s work.
Even in my days as a corporate denizen I was never any good at that. Some days I’d get up and through the necessary ablutions, have time for breakfast, coffee, and a perusal of the day’s news before heading out the door. Other days I’d be hard pressed to get out of bed without first making best friends with the snooze button too many times and then experiencing a harried flight outward just making it to work on time. Which pretty much describes every day of my education from kindergarten to college as well. Consistency has been a battle for me all of my life.
I’ve pondered at times why some of us are capable of incorporating such routines into our lives and why some of us are not. It’s one of those “2 types of people” dilemmas. I’ve noticed that those capable of doing it are almost always trying to convince those of us who aren’t that we could do it if only we “tried harder” or “got in the habit.” In fact, I think they suspect that we’re just not trying or it would come as easily to us as it does to them.
And yet, still I have no “consistent bedtime” nor “consistent morning routine” nor, for that matter, a consistent anything. We say humans are “creatures of habit” but I begin to wonder if it’s true for all of us. I don’t drive the same way to places I go routinely. I don’t break down my work day into smaller processes like so many ‘getting things done’ books say I should.
Not for lack of trying, mind you. I’m 42 years old… believe me, I’ve tried. It’s just that something in me just refuses to ‘buckle down and fly right.’
This often makes it difficult for me to interact with the “if it’s Tuesday, this must be casserole night” crowd. My lack of consistent routine or ability to implement one comes across to them as flakiness. In fact, I’ve used that term to describe myself many times because it’s just easier than saying “I’m not like you.”
If you label someone as “inconsistent” it’s seldom a compliment. We try hard ourselves to come up with more flattering terms – ecclectic, eccentric, artistic, marching to the beat of a different drummer – but really? We’re just as baffled as to why we can’t do it as those who can are as to why we can’t.
I’ve been battling this for a long time now (based on starting kindergarten at age 5, I’ll go with around 37 years or so) and I think I’ve just had an epiphany of sorts for me. I need to quit trying to fit my little square self into that tempting round hole and try to figure out instead how to thrive as someone who will never have 2 days in a row that are the same (unless, of course, having 2 days in a row that are the same breaks the pattern, then it’s a given, right?)
So how does someone who is ‘consistently inconsistent’ turn that into an asset rather than a handicap? Well, I’m not sure yet. But I’m going to find out sometime this year and I’ll let you know. I’m done being down on myself for not being a ‘creature of habit’ – I’m ready to be a ‘creature of unpredictability’ with fabulous flair. Success doesn’t depend on fitting in, after all – it depends on rising above the crowd.
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