There was a fire one night at a
convent and several nuns who lived
on the fourth floor were trapped. They were
praying for divine
providence to show them a way out of the fire when one
of the
sisters screamed, "We need to take off our robes, tie
them together,
and climb down to safety."
Later as they were recounting the event to reporters,
they were
asked if they were afraid that the crude rope might
not hold up.
"Oh, no," they said, "Old habits are hard to break."
Do you know the story of the touchstone? It tells of a
fortunate man
who was told that, if he should find the "touchstone,"
its magical
powers could give him anything he wanted. It could be
found, he was
informed, among the pebbles of a certain beach. All he
need do is
pick up a stone - if it feels warm to the touch,
unlike the other
pebbles, he has found the magical touchstone.
The man went immediately to the beach and began
picking up stones.
When he grasped a pebble that felt cold, he threw it
into the sea.
This practice he continued hour after hour, day after
day, week
after week. Each pebble felt cold. Each pebble was
immediately
tossed into the sea.
But then, late one morning, he happened to take hold
of a pebble
that felt warm, unlike the other stones. The man,
whose
consciousness had barely registered the difference,
tossed it into
the sea. He hadn't meant to, but he had formed a
habit, and habits
can be hard to break.
Most of my habits are more like routines. I habitually
arise about
the same time every day - too early, it seems. I
exercise. I fix
oatmeal for breakfast. Most days I listen to the same
kinds of music
and even read the same kinds of literature. (I hope I
don't repeat
the same old stories.) My routines include those
places I like to
visit and the people I like to see. It's all fairly
predictable. But
what I call routine is more like a series of habits,
some of which
work well for me and some I should perhaps look at a
bit more
closely.
In fact, any behavior that I repeat, I reinforce. If I
repeat it
often enough, it becomes habit. Soon I don't even
think about it -old habits are hard to break. Even good ones.
A Spanish proverb says: "Habits are first cobwebs,
then cables." The
metaphor works well for "bad" habits. They first
entice, and then
ensnare us like a cobweb. And if we continue in the
behavior, the
web grows stronger and can be as difficult to break as
a steel
cable.
But some habits can work in our favor. Such as
patterns in the way
we live our lives. Or positive attitudes and healthy
ways of
thinking. Our habitual attitudes and behaviors can
either help us or
hinder us.
The truth is this: we form our habits, then our habits
form us. So
we ought to pay attention to the habits we're forming.
Is there a behavior or attitude you would like to make
into a habit?
Then reinforce it by repeating it at every
opportunity. Is there a
something you wish to change? Then substitute a
different attitude
or behavior and repeat the new one every chance you
get.
When it comes to habits, practice may not make
perfect. But practice
will certainly make permanent. Your habits will form
you. So form
the habits you want and let them mold you into the
person you want
to be.
Steve Goodier
lss_publishing@yahoo.com
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