Habits are cobwebs at the beginning, wires at the end, the old saying goes, but what is a habit and where does it come from? It is a pattern of behavior that is repeated frequently until it becomes automatic and is a natural part of the development of the human mind. Our characters are made up of a collection of habits that can be good or bad, so we seek to establish the good ones and eliminate the bad ones.
Good habits include punctuality, honesty, reliability, and financial prudence. We are encouraged to develop them from a young age, but it is human to fall into error, and it is necessary to be constantly attentive to the maintenance of standards. Our friends, relatives, and enemies are often very helpful here in pointing out our shortcomings! Good habits develop from discipline and practice.
For example if you are studying, and that should be a lifelong habit for everyone, it is important to establish a good method. Developing a structured approach, with regular study periods, reviews, rest breaks, and a system of rewards when you’ve completed goals, works well. In other words, you must acquire good study habits. As Shakespeare said: “…Use breeds a habit in a man.”
This saying reminds us that habits start out fragile and grow stronger over time, catching us before we know it. Good habits we tend to take for granted, and it’s the bad ones that worry us. Most of the clothing tips tend to be about how to be free from the harmful. Entire industries spring up around one bad habit with gurus offering all kinds of tips, pills, and techniques.
In days gone by, people tended to see bad habits as temptations from devils or demons. Today we would probably think of habits as neural networks in the brain that get stronger with repeated use, and to break them we must overlay them with positive behavior, substituting good for bad. Smoking is considered a major bad habit and one method of control is to replace it with another sucking habit, such as candy; but this can lead to obesity that comes from bad eating habits.
Prevention is often better than cure and not starting a habit is the best method of all to avoid its consequences. “I wish I had never started it,” is the common cry of the smoker, drinker, or drug addict. People waste vast amounts of their hard-earned money on a bad habit as it grows and develops, and then even more so trying to break free of its tentacles. Young people must resolve not to follow the “thoughtless herd,” but to listen to the warnings of those who have been there, done it, and lived to regret it. There is no gain in being wise after the event.
The best method of overcoming unwanted habits is to exercise self-control so that the habit loses its energy and withers away naturally. Then the cables that bind us in misery can be broken.