So this is something that I was asked a few years ago…

“Would you run into a burning building to save someone? Would you help someone in distress?”

As a younger man who was very idealistic I said, “Of course!”

I mean…how could I say no? I honestly thought that the answer was yes.

So the next question really stumped me.

“How many times have you actually done that? How many times have you actually gone out of your way to help someone?”

I couldn’t think of the last time I did that.

And what I learned that day was that while I might think I will do the heroic thing…but even the heroic thing takes practice!

I was recently reading ‘Social Intelligence’ by Daniel Goleman and he talks about an experiment where a commuter was lying upside down on the street while his scooter lay fallen next to him.

It looked like he had been in an accident. Now one would expect someone to go and help him immediately…but it was 15 minutes before anyone tried. This, by the way, was a very busy intersection somewhere in Germany.

So what does that say about us as people? That we aren’t so helpful? Perhaps. The tendency is to avoid dangerous and problematic situations.

I think this goes for a lot of other things we think we will do. Everything we do in life is a habit. Staying fit, sleeping on time, work habits (how we deal with projects and stress…), our lives are full of habits.

Habits make living easy. If not for habits we would have to take decisions ALL the time. Habits are like shortcuts. They just ease us into the activity and overtime we don’t even notice.

How do you brush your teeth? How do you splash water on your face? All of these are habits.

The question is…what habits are you practicing that you might not want to!

Because sometimes we end up living and practicing things that we didn’t want to!

It could just be a way we deal with our emotions. Some people aren’t able to process their emotions and either withdraw or burst out (sometimes with anger) and that becomes their way to deal with it.

A LOT of people use cigarettes and drugs to deal with their anxiety. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with that approach except that when that’s the only way you know how to deal with an emotion…it leads to addiction and dependance.

So why am I saying all this?

The idea of this article is to leave you with a thought…what habits do you practice from morning till evening and what habits do you actually want to practice?

It could be the smallest thing…like the first thing you do when you wake up…that could dramatically change your entire day! Think about it!

Cynyassy out!