“To live a fulfilled life, we need to keep creating the “what is next” of our lives. Without dreams and goals, there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.” ~ Mark Twain
Humans
have a history of evolving by constantly challenging the existing limits and
creating new habits, which makes them such amazing species. No wonder they are
considered the epitome among all of His creations. All creatures are destined
for something or the other. We may not realize it, but we strive to
accomplish what we were born to do. Meet our destiny! Although destiny is
not in one's control, many parameters decide
our inevitability. To execute what the future may unfold, it is of utmost
significance that we make ourselves fit in all aspects life offers. Be
ready physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to gain maximum
momentum. When the time is right, you shall outshine the crowds. How? I have
been digging into whether Habits can become the roots of creating the possibility for transformation. Well, let us start with the
fundamental topic of Habit and understand it in and out!
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| Creating Healthy Habits |
Can Habit be a matter of choice?
Habit builds up your Character
How to master the skill of creating new habits
A
healthy habit tool
What are
Habits?
I
am not going to get into the "habits' definition"; I can bet you will
get many versions on the internet. The one thing I would like to emphasize here
is that we; humans are also building blocks. We build ourselves, our character,
our values, our future, our goals, our horizons, as well as our limitations based on small acts that we are taught by our parents and the information
we gather from our surroundings in our early childhood years; lay a base foundation
on which we will build an amazing and empowering person in future. It is a
buildup process. I will summarize it to give a wholesome understanding.
- Cut a long story short, the foundation laid in early childhood sets a tone for our instant responses to various situations.
- If these instant responses occur frequently, they will become behaviors.
- When these behaviors find acceptance or are not rejected in any way. They start to take the shape of your habits.
- A sequence of occurrences of particular habits builds up your character traits, thus defining who you become.
Haven
establishes that; a question might arise:
Can
Habit be a matter of choice?
A
note: Behaviors are conscious responses, whereas habits are
unintentional. Thereby, if any change is needed, it is an excellent
opportunity to deal with it right then when the habits have not set in yet; as
"old habits die
hard," they say.
The American Journal of Psychology defines a "habit in terms of psychology as an automated way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of mental experiences." You must have heard the phrase, "practice makes a man perfect." That is so true because repetition trains your brain and the nervous system to make paths a certain way. There is a lot of science behind the scenes, but imagine you are going through dense foliage to make it look easier. The first time will be the hardest to get through, right? Next time you pass through, you will already know the route. The third time it'll be way easier. The course you pass through leaves a trail that will start to pave the way and look more like a road to you. Similarly, your Neuro-system acts like a trail. The more you go through a specific stimulus, the more firm your responses will be. Hence you will acquire habits, which with time, will become part of your existence without any conscious effort if you allow them to. Remember, as a kid, you had to be reminded to wash your hands each time after using the toilet. For children it is more of task
1) to turn on the tap,
2) dispense the soap,
3) lather up, and
4) clean their hands.
As an adult, you do this automatically, and
you can think about other things as you take steps to wash your
hands without even making an effort to do it. This is what happens when
you practice something over a long period. It becomes natural to you. Your
daily routine constitutes mainly your daily pattern.
Habit builds up your Character
You
are what you practice each day. Because if you practice, one day you will
become so good at it that you can perform that thing quite easily
without even knowing it. If you want to achieve a goal in life, you need to
incur small acts and plant them in your daily routine. Making these tiny habits keystones to attaining the desired can do the magic. Habit builds your character
and your future. For example, if you want to be a good student, inculcate good
study habits which will lead you to your ultimate destination of being an outstanding
scholar. You can instill any habit that you believe will assist you in gaining
what you want. For instance, there are eating habits that are generally good to adopt if you want to have a healthy lifestyle. You want to be a
successful business person, or you see yourself becoming an effective public
speaker. Get on your toes and start listing behaviors you wish to
impart in yourself. Think about what attributes or acts would sum that up for
you. Be aware these seemingly small acts that we thoughtlessly perform each
day have the power to build or break you as your character-building is on the
way. Therefore one should always be very cautious of one's thoughts, behaviors,
habits, and routines. Some habits are thought of as good, and
there are some which are considered wrong as well. It is considered wise to get
yourself acquainted with the ones having a positive impact on you. Let us see a
few examples.
Some
Good habits are jotted but are not limited to the below-mentioned:
- Self-discipline
- taking a healthy
diet and exercising
- early to sleep
and early to rise
- maintaining
self-hygiene
- keeping your
surroundings clean
- keeping yourself
organized
- Having
Time-management
- working to keep
your inner(mental) and outer(physical) peace
- having an
assertive attitude in your personality (thinking, communication,
performance)
- Stress-management
- having healthy
relationships
- Anger management
- aiming for
work-life balance
- learning to
think clearly and mindfully
You may also like to read How to master the skill of creating new habits.