Sunday, December 5, 2010

The trouble with habits

Habits are funny things. The bad ones are hard to break, but easy to develop. The good ones are hard to develop but easy to lose. Good ones can turn into bad ones if taken too far. Bad habits can often be the most enjoyable. Good habits can sometimes feel like torture. 
If there is anything that I know, it's bad habits. Had them my whole life. Lots of them. I have defeated a few, picked up others, defeated others and picked up more. Good habits? Not so many I'm afraid. Lately I have had to change my thinking somewhat. There are some things that I did, which brought me a lot of enjoyment, that I stopped because they are considered by most to be "bad" habits. I never felt guilty doing them until someone told me that I should. Granted, sometimes habits can behave like addictions, and I admit that I have had my share of those. But if it is done in moderation (I'm not talking controlled substances here so stop worrying) I just don't see how it is all that bad.
I have come to the point where I have cut out from my life almost everything that I used to do for stress relief because it has been labeled by one person or another that I love as a bad habit. I now have a lot of stress, probably more than at any other point in my life, and no way to let it out. I have considered looking up "hobbies" on the internet and going through them like some sort of shopping list hoping to discover something that I might enjoy that won't get in the way of anyone's agenda for me. Alas I like to have peace in my relationships. I like to please those that I love. Many times however, the cost of pleasing those around me comes at the expense of my own enjoyment and quality of life. Perhaps I am being too honest. The trouble with habits is, I don't seem to have any anymore.

2 comments:

  1. Rob we love you! Hang in there. I do agree with your thoughts though ,if that matters, and being honest is not a bad thing, it makes you real and we appreciate that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree that having peace in your relationships is a good thing, and it does feel good to please others; however, those who love you also need to be able to please you in return, even if that means letting something slide that they may not like but can obviously see that you like. If it's not causing anyone harm, why stop doing it?

    ReplyDelete