Actually all human beings are...
So...this epiphany is not earth shattering!
A majority of my days begin at 5:30 am...actually at 5:20 because without exception I wake up at that time regardless of the time I retire...to beat my clock's alarm (because I hate it!)
and from 5:30 to 8:00 I have a regular routine that takes me to the point of my leaving for the office...
and then...I park in the same parking place...despite the fact that most of the lot is open...
and I walk through the same door...and say the same things to the people who are in the habit of arriving earlier than I do!
On weekends...when I promise myself, before retiring to bed the night prior, that I will "sleep-in"...
I wake up at 5:20...lay there for a few minutes...and get up!
There is comfort and security in routine...
The one thing that I can depend upon...is that if I follow my routine...I will be capable of providing the results expected by my superiors and dependents...a majority of the time...
I have routines so that I do not let others down...and as I think about it...so that I do not let myself down...
But like everyone else around me...(you included) we may be creatures of habits...but not all of our habits are perfect or work perfectly every time...
This opens a new door!
One of my regular lectures explains that we are defined by our habits...
I'll be REALLY brief...
Our habits are simply those behaviors and actions (reactions) that we repeat often enough that people relate it to us, in a cause/effect fashion.
We are not who we think we are...thoughts are ours and ours alone...they have no substance...
We are not who we say we are...talk is cheap!
We are known and recognized by our actions...by what we do...
Since I am merely the sum total of my habits...my value is a simple math equation...
Value = Beneficial habits - Detrimental habits
Value is defined...not by us...but by those around us!
You may argue that you have habits that are only detrimental to yourself...
I agree...but in the long-run...these will hurt you (kill you) and those around you will be hurt by your death (I hope LOL!) and deem even the most hidden habits detrimental!
Breaking some basic paradigms...(myth-busting!) we have no control over the determination of our value!
That leads to the fact that if we desire to be a contributing (valuable) individual...we have to be pursuing better habit...or does it?
- If I desire to be of more value...I am afforded many options...
- I can stay the way I am (in terms of my beneficial habits) and work diligently to reduce the number of detrimental habits
- I can increase the number of beneficial habits and keep my detrimental ones static
- I can increase the number of beneficial habits and decrease the number of detrimental ones...
So many choices...and no right way! How we go about choosing which value increasing strategy is right for us is a matter of preference...
BUT...
This perspective provides some interesting insights...
It clearly defines some obscure terms...
- Addiction = a detrimental habit that an individual refuses to eliminate in their quest for ever-increasing value...
- Control = the strength of the "-" sign in our overall equation.
- Success = any point in time when beneficial habits out weigh the detrimental habits...
Are you seeing what I am seeing?
All this habit talk is boring!
The Effective Process...
I once wrote that the most effective way to eliminate a habit is with another habit...
and...
being finite creatures...of limited capability...
if we focus solely on increasing good habits...the detrimental habits will be displaced!
and over time...
Those things which are of less benefit...will be pushed to the "detrimental" list and we'll work on displacing them...
BUT...What about my purpose and mission?
At any given time...your purpose and mission is defined by the sum total of your beneficial habits...
and...
Your effectiveness is the "Net" of beneficial and detrimental habits...
Many people are on a constant pilgrimage...in search of their purpose in life...
Let's look at this from a different perspective...
If our beneficial habits are constantly changing...what we are doing today...may be considerably different next year!
Our purpose may be to simply be gleaning through our habits and improving their value...or changing them continuously...
A clearly defined purpose or mission may be restrictive...and actually counter-productive...
Doing what matters and of value...OFTEN may be a better defining purpose than what many of the books advise!
Seriously consider this...
There are some great benefits to this perspective...
You are not waiting to blossom or acquire something before you fulfill your purpose...
At any given moment...you can live up to your purpose based upon the value you can contribute...
and so on...
OK...I have belabored this point!
Why did I call this a "Wake up call?"
It is just that for me!
I realized my life is a 5:20 am awakening...
There are certain things that have to happen (habits) in order for me to be effective...
Getting up earlier in the morning will not serve me any better...
Getting up later has the same impact...
The first and most important habit in my life is to "Wake up!"
From that single habit all else springs... DUH!
Perhaps what we need to realize is that waking up is not just "a first thing in the morning" habit for me...
but...
An ongoing habit that although conceptually the same...must take on different forms throughout my day and life!
Wake up to...(you can fill in the blank)
And...
...as I think deeper...
I don't wait for the alarm...I wake up before it because...I hate the sound of it!
Now there's a habit I need to reproduce!
Enough said!
Pura Vida!
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