Last month I decided that I'd had enough! My soap bar kept shrinking prematurely because I was keeping it on the shower shelf closest to the shower head, and the universal solvent was doing its job too well. So I moved my bar of soap to the rear shower shelf, swapping places with the pumice stone I use on my roughened heels.
Fast forward three weeks and you will learn that every morning, I still reach for the soap--and find the pumice stone in my hand. Such is the power of habits.
There's an abundance of research that explains the formation of habits through the creation of neural pathways forged through repetition, etc. I've heard different estimates about the number of times you have to repeat an action in order for it to become a habit, but let's just push the symbolic fast-forward button through all the physiological explanations for habit formation and accept that we form habits when we do something over and over.
The fruits of our habits can range from fleeting inconvenience (like reaching for my soap but ending up with the pumice stone) to grave risk to meaningful rewards. This is because the principle of habit formation works for both our negative and positive choices and behaviors. If I have cultivated the habit of texting while driving, I am putting myself and others at extreme risk. If I have a pattern of rising early every morning to exercise, I am going to reap some physical and mental health benefits.
Habits take some work to cultivate, but when we make the effort to build good habits, they serve us well, and often make it easier for us to continue to make progress in important areas. William James said it like this: "Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our fates, good or evil....Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar."
Photo credit: Jonathan Camp, CC
I like the imagery of this Spanish proverb: “Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables.” You can demonstrate the power of habits to yourself through this simple exercise: When you take your shower, try and complete each step of your shower routine in a different order from what you usually do. If you usually wash your hair first, try lathering up your torso instead. If you usually wash your face first, try washing your hair first. It's more difficult than you think; those cables are strong!
Think of how easily a cobweb is brushed or blown away. If you are starting a pattern of negative actions (dropping your dirty clothes on the floor instead of in the laundry hamper, or constantly interrupting people to share your own experiences), brush those cobwebs away before they transform into something more substantial. And if you are struggling to regularly engage in positive actions (studying the scriptures every day, or being consistently patient with a grouchy co-worker) take hope from knowing that as you continue to repeat those actions, your fragile cobwebs of good intent will be forged into something strong and impactful.
--X-Drive (aka Lisa)
Fast forward three weeks and you will learn that every morning, I still reach for the soap--and find the pumice stone in my hand. Such is the power of habits.
There's an abundance of research that explains the formation of habits through the creation of neural pathways forged through repetition, etc. I've heard different estimates about the number of times you have to repeat an action in order for it to become a habit, but let's just push the symbolic fast-forward button through all the physiological explanations for habit formation and accept that we form habits when we do something over and over.
The fruits of our habits can range from fleeting inconvenience (like reaching for my soap but ending up with the pumice stone) to grave risk to meaningful rewards. This is because the principle of habit formation works for both our negative and positive choices and behaviors. If I have cultivated the habit of texting while driving, I am putting myself and others at extreme risk. If I have a pattern of rising early every morning to exercise, I am going to reap some physical and mental health benefits.
Habits take some work to cultivate, but when we make the effort to build good habits, they serve us well, and often make it easier for us to continue to make progress in important areas. William James said it like this: "Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our fates, good or evil....Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar."
I like the imagery of this Spanish proverb: “Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables.” You can demonstrate the power of habits to yourself through this simple exercise: When you take your shower, try and complete each step of your shower routine in a different order from what you usually do. If you usually wash your hair first, try lathering up your torso instead. If you usually wash your face first, try washing your hair first. It's more difficult than you think; those cables are strong!
Think of how easily a cobweb is brushed or blown away. If you are starting a pattern of negative actions (dropping your dirty clothes on the floor instead of in the laundry hamper, or constantly interrupting people to share your own experiences), brush those cobwebs away before they transform into something more substantial. And if you are struggling to regularly engage in positive actions (studying the scriptures every day, or being consistently patient with a grouchy co-worker) take hope from knowing that as you continue to repeat those actions, your fragile cobwebs of good intent will be forged into something strong and impactful.
--X-Drive (aka Lisa)
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