Habits
Daily Meditation #199–9/9/2022
Habits are misunderstood.
It’s not as simple as “I do this new behavior 21 days and then it’s habit.” That doesn’t make too much sense, does it?
Do we really think we just wake up and our brain is rewired to think “Ah, yes. Day 21. I now know that I wake up automagically at 5 am each day.”
A habit is only a habit if you do it every day.
Forever.
There certainly are myriad ways to make habits “stickier,” like following Jerry Seinfeld’s “calendar method” or adding accountability buddies, but, ultimately it all falls to you and you alone to adhere to whatever habit you seek to form.
Some 13 years ago, I quit smoking from 3 packs a day.
About 4 years ago (as of the end of December), it was quitting alcoholism from full 750ml bottles of liquor every day.
While I am fortunate enough that when I tell myself “You’re DONE!” I am able to follow through without much risk, my father taught me a mindset that always helped, too:
“Just remember — if you fall off the wagon, you start back at ‘Day zero’ again.”
So, remember “Day Zero” and flee from it while setting new habits.
Eudaimonia will be built of many, many little and great habits we must construct. Not unlike an infinite, peakless mountain, we are in this to learn from life and through this learning, better enjoy our limited time…
Be mindful of the habits you form and even moreso of the risk of “falling off the wagon.”
Follow for daily philosophical meditations.
These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”
