“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” This quote yields much power if we really recognize its veracity.
Whether it’s good or bad, we are often identified by personality traits that become familiar to others around us. People are little more than a bundle of habits. Whether that bundle includes biting nails, doing pushups daily, using foul language, journaling or any number of activities is determined by us. While it may seem we are imprisoned by certain habits, we’ve all either succeeded or witnessed someone succeed in quitting, modifying, or creating some habit.
Practice is a habit. Study is a habit. Conversely, laziness is a habit. Negligence is a habit. The question becomes, which habits do we wish to cultivate? Can we eliminate destructive habits and give birth to productive habits? I believe we can albeit with tremendous effort and intention.
People who attempt to quit smoking cigarettes often find themselves overeating & snacking mindlessly. This is due to our human default to habitual autopilot. Ending one habit simply means we have room for another. The challenge becomes substituting undesired habits with virtuous ones. This is the appeal of New Year’s Resolutions, the desire to craft healthy habits or to eliminate unhealthy ones. These resolutions infamously fail within weeks or even days due to the stronghold our habits have upon actions.
We should start to become aware of our habits—good, bad, or ugly. Once we realize what our habitual actions are, and the consequent of such automated behavior only then can we monitor and attempt to alter them. Just imagine how much we could grow if we could pick and choose our natural default tendencies.
–Derek
BeChoozy 