We are gerbils.
We have our paths that we run daily; kitchen, car, office, school, work. We pause at regular intervals to eat and to (ahem) get rid of what we’ve eaten. Most of us bathe regularly and brush our teeth.
We are the products of our habits. Only problem is, when not enough of our habits feed our souls, we get cranky, gloomy, cantankerous, spiteful, melancholy, and we eat vats of ice cream. Life has turned into a giant Habitrail. We press our paws and nose against the plastic walls, but if feels like there is no way out.
One of the more painful (and useful) lessons in life is realizing that people can say anything, and that what they say can be hot, smelly air. If you really want to understand someone, or you’re trying to figure out what kind of person they are, observe what they do. Actions do, indeed, speak much louder than words.
What do your habits say about the kind of person you are? Is that who you want to be right now?
Ready… Not that I want you to waste anymore time on the Internet, but one of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, is sure to help if you are trying to reorient your life. Also, Lifehack has 6 Ways To Make New Habits Stick.
Set… “The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Samuel Johnson
Today’s prompt: Make a list of habits that either you or your main character has. If you’re writing about your character, make a note of which habits he is aware of, and which ones he doesn’t realize that he does. Which of these habits (yours or your character’s) have begun to stand in the way of obtaining a desire or fulfilling a dream? How? Why?
Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…
Here’s my favorite habit story: When my daughter was just learning to walk, after a bath, I encouraged her to carry her diry clothes to the laundry basket with plenty of “Look at you! What a big girl you are!” The habit became so deeply engrained that even when she came home for college breaks, she would still throw her dirty clothes in the laundry, with the inevitable result of a package of clean clothes going out in the mail after she had left.
The most difficult habit for me to unlearn was “Yes,” as in “Yes, I will help with your activity, cause, etc.” But I am finally getting better about guarding my writing time, while doing enough of the volunteer things that also make me feel good (literacy initiatives and such).