Developing Dynamic Habits

Everyone has habits.  Getting up in the morning, doing the things that create order in your environment, eating nutritious meals, exercising your body, practicing good hygiene, getting enough sleep.  These habits enable you to function at full strength both at work and play.  Good study habits enable you to organize your thinking and use your time for effective learning.  Habits of courtesy create natural good manners that make others comfortable.  Consistent practice habits enable you to develop a skill or talent like music or sports, painting, crafts or writing. 

A habit is a pattern of behavior we have acquired that has become so automatic it’s difficult to modify or eliminate.  Most habits become unconscious and we no longer have to think about where, when, how or whether to do things – it’s almost as though they’re done outside of our conscious will.

Habitual behaviors can certainly be helpful.  We rarely need to think about the way we use our bodies to walk, run and climb stairs.  We are robotic about the way we hold a pencil, fork or a cup.  Drivers get into the habit of operating the accelerator, brake and turn signal efficiently, never giving the process a thought.  Habits of politeness such as saying “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” “you’re welcome” and “excuse me,” promote harmony as we communicate with each other in our daily routines.

The habits of doing routine things in a certain order can sometimes assure completion.  For instance, putting everything you need for work in the same place near the door before you go to bed each night can help you get a smooth start the next morning.  If before you leave the house each day you form the habit of taking a few seconds to visually scan the room and think about what you need to take with you, you will save yourself time and embarrassment.  Thinking about what needs to be turned off or unplugged will help keep your home safe.

The habits of thinking negatively about ourselves and our opportunities is self-destructive.  Procrastination is an insidious and self-defeating habit that has ruined many lives.  Blaming other people or circumstances for our failures can become a habit that prevents us from moving forward toward the completion of our goals.   By the time  a behavior pattern becomes a habit, it feels so familiar that it seems to be a natural part of us, but, infact, habits are learned and practiced.  Just as we have learned them over time, so too it’s possible to unlearn them. Determine how to be the master of your habits, so that your habits can be useful servants to you.