That's MY sink!!!!!
“In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success.”
-Og Mandino
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We form an excessive amount of habits over the course of our lives, many of which we don’t even realize. We establish some that are good, and some that are destructive. Sometimes it’s just the lack of good habits that allow us to fail.
Now that I’ve finished my first year of college out of the house and on my own, I’ve realized the true importance of good habits. There are certain aspects of my life that I have to do habitually or else I’ll never accomplish them. Especially when it comes to academics, if I don’t have a regimented time of when I’m going to study, it’s easy for me to forget or put it off.
But looking at the opposite side of the spectrum, I’ve also realized how habits – even decent ones – can be a bad thing. There are times that I don’t deal well with change. I easily fall into a routine, and if something breaks that routine I can get a little frustrated. I find a method that works and I stick to it religiously. At school this year, I had to adapt to a bathroom with three sinks that was shared with about fifteen girls. This wasn’t much of a problem at night, since I generally stayed up ridiculously late. There were hardly more than two people in there at once. I had one specific sink that I always used. The drain wasn’t clogged with hair quite as much as the other two, it had temperatures other than freezing and boiling, and it was just generally better. So at night I always used my sink. But in the morning, when we all got ready for classes around the same time, it got a bit crowded. The counter was covered with makeup bags, curling irons, hair-straighteners, and my sink, which happened to be the one next to the electrical outlet, was often taken. I have to admit that at first, this bothered me. After using the same sink for two weeks, I wasn’t about to switch to a different one. I just wasn’t used to it. Pathetic it may have been, but what can I say? I find refuge in familiarity.
Habits are all about balance. (What in life isn’t?) Acceptable habits need to be formed in order to avoid lethargy and falling down a slippery slope. At the same time, we also need to be willing to accept certain changes. Nothing besides God is always constant. Anyone who clings to routine and won’t step out to unfamiliar territory is going to have a really tough life. Hence the reason I’m working on this myself.
So here’s a tribute to both change and habit; may they both be present in your life, but may neither define you.
-Og Mandino
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We form an excessive amount of habits over the course of our lives, many of which we don’t even realize. We establish some that are good, and some that are destructive. Sometimes it’s just the lack of good habits that allow us to fail.
Now that I’ve finished my first year of college out of the house and on my own, I’ve realized the true importance of good habits. There are certain aspects of my life that I have to do habitually or else I’ll never accomplish them. Especially when it comes to academics, if I don’t have a regimented time of when I’m going to study, it’s easy for me to forget or put it off.
But looking at the opposite side of the spectrum, I’ve also realized how habits – even decent ones – can be a bad thing. There are times that I don’t deal well with change. I easily fall into a routine, and if something breaks that routine I can get a little frustrated. I find a method that works and I stick to it religiously. At school this year, I had to adapt to a bathroom with three sinks that was shared with about fifteen girls. This wasn’t much of a problem at night, since I generally stayed up ridiculously late. There were hardly more than two people in there at once. I had one specific sink that I always used. The drain wasn’t clogged with hair quite as much as the other two, it had temperatures other than freezing and boiling, and it was just generally better. So at night I always used my sink. But in the morning, when we all got ready for classes around the same time, it got a bit crowded. The counter was covered with makeup bags, curling irons, hair-straighteners, and my sink, which happened to be the one next to the electrical outlet, was often taken. I have to admit that at first, this bothered me. After using the same sink for two weeks, I wasn’t about to switch to a different one. I just wasn’t used to it. Pathetic it may have been, but what can I say? I find refuge in familiarity.
Habits are all about balance. (What in life isn’t?) Acceptable habits need to be formed in order to avoid lethargy and falling down a slippery slope. At the same time, we also need to be willing to accept certain changes. Nothing besides God is always constant. Anyone who clings to routine and won’t step out to unfamiliar territory is going to have a really tough life. Hence the reason I’m working on this myself.
So here’s a tribute to both change and habit; may they both be present in your life, but may neither define you.
posted by AJ at
Sunday, May 24, 2009
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