A Legacy of Habits:

The Journey from Inherited Discipline to Personal Discovery

Image by 422737 from Pixabay

In the 1960s, our family lived in an Australian town, hundreds of km from the nearest city. As I was growing up in this rural town, my father exercised every morning. Who did that back then? There wasn’t even a gym in our town. Sport was the only exercise and Dad already played tennis, cricket and golf.

He was always health and fitness-minded. He worked as a Health Inspector and was responsible for public health in our town. In those days, polio, measles and mumps still threatened public health. Thanks to his farming childhood, he grew many of our fruits and vegetables and insisted on a healthy household diet and plenty of activity.

He was a busy dad of four children, ferrying us to multiple sports. Our day began with swimming training. He would drop us off at the pool at 6 a.m. and pick us up a couple of hours later, home for breakfast, and then to school. Mum and Dad were Champions in their sports. Dad was on numerous sporting committees in our town. It was a busy household.

In addition to his beloved sports, he kept fit with a group of mates who met and trained regularly. As family commitments grew and time became scarce, he discovered the 5BX fitness program and became a devotee.

The program grew up in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In 1956, the RCAF hired Dr. Bill Orban to devise a fitness program. The brief was to develop a high fitness level in the shortest time possible. The target was RCAF pilots, a third of whom were not considered fit to fly.

The 5BX plan (Five Basic Exercises) was developed for men, and a corresponding program named XBX (Ten Basic Exercises) was developed for women. The two plans were published together as one book in 1961. It was an instant hit in many countries worldwide and helped launch the modern fitness culture.

Dad was ahead of his time and the perfect person for the program.

The book had images of the simple exercises and boxes to tick off exercises performed. Early tracking. Throughout the charts and levels, the five exercises are the same, but more difficult variations are introduced:

• Stretching

• Sit-up

• Back extension

• Push-up

• Running in place

I don’t remember ever sitting, watching or thinking about him exercising, but it was a background feature of the household. We ignored most of it. However, when it came time for the last exercise, running on the spot, we all knew about it. The whole house rocked.

5BX fitted perfectly. It reminds me of the promise of HiiT these days.

I must have been inspired by Dad’s program and the example he set because I carried that 5BX/XBX book around for many years, thinking one day I would emulate him by becoming as self-regulated as he was. I loved the idea of exercise, being disciplined, and moving up the levels. But, as a teenager, I rebelled against any regulation.

I left home and revelled in my freedom.

I chased fleeting successes and indulged in a lack of routine, believing in spontaneity’s charm over discipline’s perceived rigidity.

However, this path proved unsustainable. The allure of an unregulated life slowly lost its sheen as I encountered the inevitable challenges of a shaky foundation. But it took many years, many life failures and many regrets to reach that point.

Inspired by the enduring image of my Dad’s commitment to morning exercise, I began to see the value in what I had once viewed as unnecessary constraints. I started to embrace the habits and routines I had observed in my father, finding my path to self-discipline through structured physical activity and habit tracking. This shift was not just about fitness but instilling order and purpose into every aspect of my life.

Today, as I reflect on the journey from inherited to discovered discipline, I realise that the true legacy of my father’s habits was not just the physical fitness but the mental and emotional resilience that comes from embracing a disciplined lifestyle. At 92, he continues to reap the rewards of his lifelong dedication to health and fitness, a testament to the enduring power of disciplined habits.

At age 92, he still plays golf weekly (and wins occasionally).

Now that I have six years of tracked habit-building and massive habit streaks under my belt, I can see that not only do self-regulation and habits work, but I am my father’s daughter.

My purpose now is to be that role model for my family. Not that I need to do much, as my children took less time than me to realise the value of self-regulation and consistency. Furthermore, their children, my grandchildren, all decided early in their lives that there is power in discipline. I marvel at their accomplishments and wonder what I could have accomplished with that Attitude at that Age.

My Favourite Substack Reads this week:

How to live a thousand lifetimes: Don’t rush your life away by Jack Dixon

This Writer Made $100,000 Last Year in Her Spare Time by David Mcilroy

Collaging a Life by Susie Kaufman