We all have habits. This is not a bad thing. Well most of them aren’t. For want of a better phrase, they ‘keep you regular’.
Habits run into pretty much everything that we do. Do you drive the same route to work everyday? Do you always have granola for breakfast? Coffee with two sugars? Habits create structure in our day, providing us with a framework to fall back on during the moment of auto-pilot. Frankly, if it wasn’t for habits it is unlikley that I would make it to work most mornings.
What is interesting however, is how many of our habits are not things we made a conscious decision to always do. We seem to assume that all our actions are of our our free volition, but habits are often a prime example of this not being the case.
Have a think right now. That route to work you take – do you take it because you have worked out it is the quickest way, or is it just how you did it on your first day in that job? When was the last time you tried a different cereal for breakfast? Why DO you put two sugars in your coffee – can you remember the first time you did this?
Our friends, environment, and family all do their fair share of crafting our habits. Yes I only check my e-mail every 2 hours because I decided myself to do that, but I also drink tea rather than coffee because my parents do the same. I choose to get up early every day, but why do I set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier than I need to when it only makes me feel more groggy. I change my route to work frequently to find the most effiecent journey, but for some odd reason I only ever go to the same pump at the same gas station.
Not of these are going to ruin anyones day, but habits you didn’t consciously sign up to can often be the things that hold you back – they are like a virus. Maybe there are people you always assume the worse of. Or you smoke and wish you didn’t. Could be you are obese yet can’t stop eating.
But even trivial things can make you less productive, or enjoy life a bit less. Do you check Facebook every time you turn your computer on and waste 20 minutes? Do you always forget your brother’s birthday? Do you always leave it late to shop for Christmas and get stressed out?
Write a list of you habits. All of them. Which ones did you choose, and which ones chose you?
