Are your habits helping or hurting you?

Take a minute to think about this question. Are your habits helping or hurting you? We actually got to thinking about habits as we listened to Kenny Rogers singing The Gambler. The lyrics are about a game of cards and knowing when to hold ‘em, knowing when to fold ‘em and even when to run. The game of life is much more important than a game of cards so let’s not gamble with it. Let’s look at our life habits from those three perspectives – hold ‘em, fold ‘em and run.

Hold ‘em habits. These are habits that are good for us, we want to hold on to and do more often. A good habit serves us well and improves our life, our health and our well-being. It can even get linked to other good habits and form a routine. An example of a good habit that can become a routine is exercising regularly. With any good habit, it’s also important to keep balance in life.

Fold ‘em habits. When we find habits that are hurtful for us we want to fold ‘em, which means to drop them and get rid of them. Unfortunately, bad habits can also become routines and get embedded in our schedules. An example might be regularly eating fatty fast foods just because they’re convenient. Yes, it saves time but they are bad for health. These habits may seem okay for a while but they are hurtful to you in the long run. Leo Aikman said, “The best way to break a habit is to drop it.”

Run! Then we come to habits we want to run from because they are not only detrimental to us, they can be downright dangerous or even lethal. These habits can appear harmless at first but when they are done to excess, they cause lots of harm. Addictions fall in this category. Once addictions take hold of a person, they can be very difficult to stop. Run from addictions and run to get help.

We talked to Nancee Carpenter, Chanhassen resident. Nancee, enjoys singing both classical and opera in productions. We asked Nancee what habits or routines were helpful to her. Nancee answered, “I have one ritual or habit that created a lot of laughter at my husband’s work when they found this out. I actually bring a cup of tea to my husband every morning in bed. That’s wonderfully helpful for him. I’ve done this for years. You have to realize he’s British. The helpful thing for me (is) we both sit with that cup of tea. We listen to the radio. We have no television so our news and our information comes from the radio. So, we listen to MPR and then we listen to a talk radio station. We get our news from both perspectives, more to the left and more to the right. It’s very helpful. I think that’s much better.”

Next we asked Nancee what habits or routines she wants to get rid of. Nancee said, “I really would like to get rid of playing computer games (and) surfing around – it gives me the opportunity to do nothing. I really do want to try to control that and I’ve been making some effort.” We thanked Nancee for her honesty and acknowledged that many of us can get caught up in chasing things on the web. Nancee also shared that she really does have a television, but only rarely watches it when there are documentaries. That has to be a great time-saver.

We are taking inventory of our habits. We definitely want to increase exercise and get more sleep. We also want to decrease computer time. It’s so easy to go down those rabbit holes and get lost surfing. Fortunately, we don’t have any addictions but we know how difficult these habits can be to control and stop.

Somerset Maugham said, “The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.”

What about you? What habits do you want to have in your life?

Encouragement: Don’t gamble with the habits in your life. Take inventory and decide which habits are helpful, which are hurtful and when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em or run. Don’t beat on yourself for what you have not been doing well. The future is open to you to get rid of the bad habits and addictions and increase the good habits. Positive change is just a decision away. Get any help you need to make good choices and have good habits to live an even more successful life.

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2019 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.