As one gets older one begins to feel everything. You feel your lungs as you cough. You feel your shoulder as you reach up to pull the blinds up in the morning. You feel your calves as you fumble your way to the kitchen and realise you didn't do any calf raises yesterday, that's just age. You reach the kitchen and turn towards the sink above which hang the cups. the sink is either full of dirty water, last night's plates and floating detritus OR the sink is clear and all the cups are hanging where they should be and you get a bit of a boost... The reason? It's all down to habits. The habit of going to bed leaving the house looking a mess or the habit of tidy as you go where the sink is always left clean. How to encourage good habits? Self-talk can talk - "I'm the sort of person who..." "I always..."
Habits, the good the bad and the ugly.
Good habits:-
Going for a daily walk or exercise
Bad habits Wasting time on social media
Ugly habits
Hoarding (not throwing anything away, not organising anything)
How long does it take to form a habit? The answer is slightly more complicated than how long does it take to annoy me which is really quick and straightforward. A habit can take anything between three weeks and nine months depending on the person, the type of habit involved. One must simply practice the desired behaviour, and keep going using willpower until the forced habitual bahaviour becomes habit, until no real effort is required. Habit is much more powerful and resilient than willpower. Think back to the bad habits you have acquired, how hard it was to break them , how much willpower was involved.
