One of the things that makes us human is our freedom to choose. When faced with a situation, we have the ability to rise above our base instinctual reactions and make a conscious choice in response to that situation.
If we make the same choice in the same situation time and again, a habit forms. Most often we think of this in terms of bad habits rather than focusing on the good that can come from habits. Habits are seen as locking a person into a routine with no way out. And while that's pretty much what a habit is, that certainly doesn't have to be a bad thing.
If a positive habit is created, the same rigidity that people fight against when trying to break bad habits will still be there, but instead of hindering you, it can help set you free. Having that automatic reaction to complete a task leads to more unburdened free time. Positive habits can take certain activities and effortlessly vault them over the excuses and move straight to getting things done. You won't have to spend energy avoiding things. Positive habits can help you to focus on what's really important while not having a list of little "shoulds" on your mind to clog up the works.
I had this blog post started a number of weeks ago and came back to it multiple times and pecked at it a bit each time. Nothing jumped out at me enough to be able to finish it. I looked back over it again this past week and realized that it coincided surprisingly well with a major theme from the novel I had just finished reading: A Clockwork Orange. A question presented in the book is: Are we still human if we have been deprived of our ability to choose to do right or wrong?
I've only touched on the specifics of what the habits are that I'm attempting to form or change. I'll expand on that more another time.
I'll go the same route as last time and end with a link to a few of my thoughts on Anthony Burgess', A Clockwork Orange.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Choices that Make Us Human
Posted by Torey at 10:20 PM
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2 comments:
I don't think I had ever thought of it that way. You would think that bad habits are the path of least resistance, but when you consider the amount of energy that goes into making resolutions to change, keeping those resolutions in the forefront of your mind and then feeling guilty for not following through, it's a tremendous amount of wasted energy. Luckily for us, we can make a conscious decision to change. Thanks for the reminder!
And building on your thought, Mary Jo, I hadn't thought about it to that point.
I never considered the wasted energy changing bad habits that could have been saved by not getting to that point to start with.
Sharing thoughtful ideas begets more sharing of thoughtful ideas!
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