Habits.

“Habits good,

habits bad,
once picked up

are hard to discard”.
(Marie J. Shine)

 

The dictionary defines a habit as something which is done all the time: an

Action or behaviour pattern that is regular, repetitive and often unconsciously practiced.

 

There is a saying which states that ‘old habits die hard’, and I tend to agree with it. Habits good or bad, encouraged, nurtured, tended with care and practiced with the passing of time, seem to become as one with their creator, absorbed into his or her personality. Unless caught on time, habits can be very difficult to break free from.

 

There are two categories of habit. (a) Good and (b) bad and they vary in degrees. In good habits there are ‘better’ habits and in bad habits there are ‘worse’ habits.

 

Good habits like washing our hand can sometimes become bad habits. When practiced to the extreme, they can become obsessive compulsive addictions, from which there is no escape unless they are dealt with by cognitive therapist. The therapist helps the person to find the root cause of their addiction and can then alter their mindset, their way of thinking and thus

their behaviour. This procedure can set the person free from their habit, provided they are open to a cure and not just relief from their problem.

 

Some people may not see it as a problem at all. In fact, it may be a person who is close to them who recognizes that their old habit has them firmly in it’s grasp, and who urges them to seek professional help. Once corrected  great care has to be taken, because it is so very easy to lapse into old ways which we were once comfortable with.

 

It is very easy to get into a habit - especially a bad one. Bad habits should not be entertained under any circumstances. The situation needs to be very carefully assessed when we first begin to form a habit, even a good one, and it’s best to drop all bad habits at the onset, the very moment we realise we have picked them up, before they have time to become established.

 

Some people whose habits have become ingrained in them with age, from years of habitual practice, may no longer be aware that they are practicing a habit. It is accepted as part of their normal routine by them, and as part of their personality by other folk.

 

Many people have habits which are both nauseating and repulsive. But in no way does this deter them from inflicting their habits, unwelcome though they are, on other poor souls.

 

Habits can form at any age between the cradle and the grave, and we need to be constantly on our guard to prevent new ones forming and attaching themselves to the litany we already have.

 

Humans are not the only creatures of habit. The animal kingdom and the birds all have their own peculiar habits, which vary according to the species.

Reviews

[Jeyanthi]

Hi dear what a lovely post...
I had uppression habit ( reapeatedly doing unknown things that am completely out of my surroundings )..when I was in depression.. gladly and thankfully I was out from that scary days...

A state of mind and conscious is always needed... healing and breaking down from habits also need lot of energy..
You put forth in a understanding way... that what we are miss to it..
Have a nice day!! 😃🙂🙂

[Jeyanthi]

I'm loving the quote dear.. Marie.. I'm taking it .. 🙂

[Andra Davis]

This was most interesting. Habits are complex things. Nice one.

[Soren]

A quite thorough explanation of habits placing them in a dicotomy of good and bad then delineating each on a gradiant scale. Very well explained in an clear and logical manner.