It takes around three months to develop a new habit. If you are open to taking the plunge and dedicating yourself to exploring this concept, you may be able to unlock the power of incremental growth.
Gong = Work
If this is your first time trying to develop a habit, I suggest you create a program for yourself that feels achievable. It can be very tempting to group a collection of new habits into a gong and then attempt a superhuman transformation. You may even be able to maintain this for a week or two but the demands of life tend to creep back in over time.
Is there something in your life that you have wanted to try or a barrier in your life that continues to feel insurmountable? This might be a great opportunity to address one of these issues. You may want to learn to play piano, finish a project, or study a new martial arts form. Any pursuit that improves your life and feels like a personal victory is a worthy use of your time here.
If it hadn’t been for the concept of following a gong, I doubt that I would have ever learned some of the more complex Kung Fu forms or progressed in my Tai Chi. For the purposes of this site and the exploration of Taoist principles and ideas, including Qi Gong and a Tai Chi or Kung Fu form you are working on can really help to strengthen your connection with this material.
Starting Over and Over and Over
If you get to Day 62 or 79 or 99 and you miss a day of training or slip in some way while working on your gong, you should start at Day 1 again and work toward that 100 Days. It can feel really soul crushing to get to a certain day and then have to start over. But that’s part of the lesson that this particular exercise can help you learn. It teaches discipline and accountability and the extra time will help you perfect this new habit. The real test begins when you miss a day. Do you fall apart in the face of “failure” or do you get back up and work on this new habit
Ultimately, a 100-Day Gong is a promise to yourself. Set your intention and follow through and you will discover a treasure trove of gifts within yourself. I’m making this website a part of my gong and I will endeavor to add something to the site every day for the next 100 days. If I miss a day, I will start over again at Day 1 and you’ll get more content!
If you get to the end of 100-Day Gong and you want to keep going… try extending your gong to 1000 Days and make it a Super Gong! You can always add things to your gong as you go and have overlapping gongs but I really recommend working on one or two things that feel achievable for your first gong and see how it feels to develop new positive habits in your life and unlock the power of incremental growth!
Here’s an article about the 100-Day Gong featuring Pedram Shojai (an amazing student of Sijo Carl Totton): https://thechalkboardmag.com/100-day-gong/
If you are looking for a personal gong that will help you become more aware of your emotional state, try this gong from my teacher Sijo Carl Totton: 10-Day-Gong.pdf I found this on his podcast website here: https://whatsthistao.com/contact-the-show/
Lastly, you are welcome to explore a 20 minute Daily Gong in the following video. Hopefully this will give you an idea what kind of habits you might explore if you are ready to dive into the deep end of Qi Gong! Enjoy!