The Habit Tracker's Guide to Life
On finding and following the track that's been laid out for you.
In May 2020, I started tracking my habits with Project 52. My intention was to lay the foundation for my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being over the period of 52 weeks. Habit tracking helped me bring awareness to my journey and optimize the process of habit-building over time.
At the end of Year 1, several habits had become second nature. My body desired exercise and movement, my mind desired clarity through journaling and nourishment through reading, and my spirit desired connection and embodiment.
I decided to dedicate Year 2 of Project 52 to my biggest challenge — transmuting the trauma that had held me as a prisoner for over a decade. I wanted to be free.
As Year 2 comes to a close, I find myself increasingly anchored in freedom. I will be publishing a review of Year 2 at the end of this month with all the lessons I’ve learned and the transformations I’ve gained.
But I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about the one habit that's been at the heart of my journey over the last two years — the habit of tracking itself.
My approach so far has been simple — outline the habits that will help me fulfil my intentions and then track my progress with them. This worked well for most of these past two years — I had an idea about the track I needed to follow and I followed it.
But in the last few months, I’ve found myself increasingly off track. As they say — man proposes and God disposes. There have been habits I’ve wanted to build, but the circumstances of my life made it difficult to follow through. This was reflected in my low habit scores for several weeks.
At first, I found this frustrating. But along the way, I noticed that my intention was still being fulfilled — just not along the track that I’d envisioned. I was getting good at transmuting trauma. I was feeling increasingly embodied. But it was happening in a way that I hadn’t anticipated.
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell
I recently read The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life by Boyd Varty, where I was introduced to the idea that there’s another kind of track altogether — not one that I have laid out for myself, but one that’s already been laid out for me:
Inside you is the wild part of you that knows what your gift, purpose, and mission are. That part of you is wild and elusive. It cannot be captured, as it is always evolving. To live on its trail, you must become a tracker.
We have forgotten that life holds a unique story for us all. A thread made up of faint signs that lead to the manifestation of something unique. What the native people call “your medicine way.” Something that only you can give to the world.
Following the track that’s been laid out for us requires us to recognize and utilize the instrument that is our body to tune into the information around us. Boyd says:
I [came] to realize that becoming aware of such information and the feelings it evokes—the people who are important to you, the things that bring you to life, the arrival of something meaningful—is its own kind of consciousness: track awareness.
While track awareness is relevant to the track you’ve set for yourself, it takes a special significance in the track that has been laid out for you. When you think you’re off track with your plans, you might just be missing the track that life is showing you right under your nose!
As the world grows increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, it’s essential that we develop our track awareness and get attuned to what’s alive for us at any given moment. Boyd elaborates:
Finding what is uniquely yours requires more than rationality. You have to learn how your body speaks. You have to learn how you know what you know. You have to follow the inner tracks of your feelings, sensations, and instincts, the integrity and truth that are deeper than ideas about what you should do. You have to learn to follow a deeper, wiser, wilder place inside yourself.
So, what happens to my habit tracking endeavours now?
I’ll continue to create habit tracks and follow them to the best of my abilities. But I’ll also cultivate my awareness so that I can be present to the track that’s already been laid out for me. And I will find alignment between the two — so that all my thoughts, words, and actions are in alignment with the divine track of life.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with some words from the inimitable Body Varty:
Open yourself to the unknown. Develop your track awareness. Amidst all of the information that surrounds us, learn to see what is deeply important to you. Use the feelings in your body as a guide.