How can we change our habits to better our lives? Sleep is something many people often take for granted. Oftentimes people forget that the good things in life, even basic things like a sleep schedule, require hard work to acquire.

A few months ago I developed a terrible habit where I was sleeping for about four to five hours a night. It was starting to affect my entire life. It became harder to get my work done because I couldn’t function at my best. So change was a necessity. The problem was, bad habits are difficult to break. Why does it take immense amounts of effort to change for the better?

Although a sleep schedule seems like something easy enough to fix, I definitely struggled. Procrastination and the lack of self discipline were my two worst enemies. Striving to overcome the two was an extremely difficult task. It took a lot of willpower and strength to fight against it. The truth is, routines, and discipline are life skills that require practice. Life isn’t easy, it’s not effortless, it requires us to do certain things at times where we aren’t motivated to. 

Even after knowing how to change, actually making it happen can be strenuous. There are some successful days and failure on many occasions. A few days ago, I read an article on the science behind napping, which helped me through the days where I was sleep deprived. On the bright side, life truly improves after changes are made. The effort pays off, it leads to positive outcomes.

There is irony in the image below, “Feeling Sleepy? Just Run 10 Miles Uphill to the Cozy Inn.” When someone is exhausted they need something that will eradicate or at least minimize the fatigue. Maybe a coffee or some rest. However, instead, the flyer instructs the reader to run ten miles to actually reach the inn. In real life, the same irony also exists. Sometimes we need downtime on bad days, but instead we are given an overwhelming amount of work to do.

Life can burden us with tasks we aren’t up to do, but in the long run they are beneficial. To change for the better, to reach the end goal, means we have to put in the effort and face the “ten miles” that life throws at us. The final destination, the Cozy Inn, a place to rest, is worth the sacrifices and exertion.