Habits 2

Well that puts a different perspective on things.

I was reading about a guy talking about a habit he had.  It was not like it was illegal.  It was chewing his nails. Perfectly socially ok to do.  I guess there are different types of habits.  Some illegal, some legal but not good for a person, and some good.  As Brian Tracy said, “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.”  I want the good ones.  The ones that are bad for me I can do without.

I never knew chewing nails could be such an issue.  This guy avoided card games, and gave hand craft projects a miss.  On dates he would keep his hands in his pocket as he was ashamed of them.  In the article is a quote I really like by a guy called Horace Mann. “Habit is a cable: We weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it.”

I have my own issues to deal with, but it seems that for any human behaviour there is a habit.  I am fond of talking about balance.  It seems to me excess is a great breeding ground of habits.  I can only talk of what has been real to me.  Working too much is a bad habit and often seems to lead to the neglect of people.  Pursuing sport can do the same.  I think maybe too much sleep falls into the category of a bad habit.  I was crook and I think it was because yesterday I spent so much time being an under-cover agent.  Although the older I get the greater the cost.

Aristotle said “good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”  While I agree wholeheartedly with that, I do not believe it is ever too late to break a bad habit (just as well really, me being 62 and all).

Something Robert Baden-Powell said rings true with me, “Correcting bad habits cannot be done by forbidding or punishment.”  My own view is forbidding and punishing only is one of the reasons why there is so much re-offending.  “Can,” to me, is more powerful than “can’t.”

I am a great believer in replacement.  If the replacement for my $5 is $10 then I am likely to give up my $5.  When I become aware of the benefits of an altered behaviour, I am more likely to want it.  Having said that, I have found that wanting something is not always enough.  I need help.

Having read what I did this morning shows me destructive habits come in many guises.  I know what is bad for me.  To change, I need a light to go on in my head (if my head has a totally weird glow, that may be just what happened.). 

I may have tried to cross a river before and failed.  That does not make the river un-crossable – I may just need help crossing it.