Habits 2

It is nearly 10:30 in the evening and I am finally getting a chance to write about habits, as promised yesterday. I have been too busy, too distracted, too tired, too every-other-excuse-in-the-book to finish this post. Bottom line, I am out of the habit!

We are all creatures of habit, both good and bad. Anything we have done over and over for an extended period of time becomes a habit.

I can’t sleep without brushing my teeth, it is a habit so ingrained in me that I actually imagine cavities forming if I don’t brush before bed. I drink a cup of coffee upon awakening, it is a ritual. I sit in the living room, thinking about nothing, and smelling as well as sipping coffee. Sometimes my husband and I talk a little. Mostly, we just enjoy the quiet. I keep thinking I need to start an exercise routine upon awakening but I am having a hard time giving up, or even changing, my coffee time.

I have wanted to create new habits and sometimes I try to do ten or twelve at once. This doesn’t work. One at a time, for 30 days, and a habit starts to be ingrained. At this point, I can start a new one. Even that 30 day habit is just a baby, it can be lost in a few days. Long time habits, over decades, are the ones that don’t go away as easily.

More on habits over the next few days.