Habit can equal rut.
Habits are powerful. We do certain things a certain way regularly. We have rituals and preferred processes.
This can be useful, particularly when it comes to self-care. If we regularly brush our teeth, exercise, or eat a healthy meal at a particular time, it gets done reliably. Habits help us establish consistency.
They can, however, just as easily keep us regularly doing things that don’t benefit us. The coffee and donut we buy on the way to work, the time we spend doom scrolling after supper, the strong drink or two we have when we get home from work all are things that are innocuous on an occasional basis but can be detrimental on the regular.
Habits are intended to give us power over our lives. But they also can establish power over us and our lives. It can become a question of who’s in charge in our lives.
The key factor is whether the habitual behavior is healthy and serves our best interests. When habits build us up mentally, emotionally, physically, and/or spiritually, they’re useful. When they don’t, we may want to limit them to only occasional indulgences. If we aren’t able to maintain this discipline, it may be best to remove the questionable habit from our repertoire.
Today’s message invites me to take stock of the daily habits I have. Which habits serve my best interests? Which ones are merely default behaviors? And what routine actions are unhealthy? And what regular activities keep me stuck? This awareness can help me prune and train my habits to best serve me.
Please reflect and share. How much awareness do you apply to your habits?