The problem is not the habit itself, but the fact of turning it into a lifestyle. When that happens, we end up desensitizing, emotionally and intellectually. We also become fearful and deaf to the opportunities for growth and change.
Last update: October 18, 2019
The cycle of habit is a trap. At first it welcomes us in a warm comfortable embrace, but in the long run it tightens us in a vice that limits our movements. Over time you also learn to balance the damage it causes with the benefits it offers. But he remains stationary, indefinitely.
The human brain is a fabulous organ designed primarily to create. In turn, creation is, in essence, the path used by intelligence to solve problems. The cognitive faculties and the emotional world reach their peak when faced with a difficulty.
“Habits are like a rope. We weave a strand of it every day and soon we can't break it anymore. "
-Horace Mann-
Habit is a way of defining the terrain of experience. One of the functions of the routine is to reduce the range of daily difficulties to be faced. But this largely prevents us from thinking and feeling; we move guided by inertia.
Not having to think about every single thing to do is undoubtedly good, but when you get to the point where everything is already decided in advance ... first boredom comes, then depression.
The human brain is designed for change, for novelty and avoiding this leads to cognitive and emotional consequences. But how do we know if we are in the grip of the cycle of habit? Pay attention to the following signs.
Habit cycle: how much does it limit us?
Dedicate yourself more to urgencies than to important things
We define "urgent" everything that represents a duty. Habit leads us to load ourselves with duties, but these are almost always related more to the satisfaction of others, than of ourselves. And this is what usually prompts us to act. The duties include work, academic, family, emotional, ideological duties, etc.
What is important, on the other hand, concerns everything that really determines our well-being and the feeling of leading a satisfying life. Spending quality time with the people we love, for example; or the reflection we owe to ourselves about a feeling that worries us and we don't know why. For this, in the end, we never have time.
Thinking of having to be satisfied
When you are trapped in the cycle of habit, you feel an inner discomfort. Although routine leads us to organize and decide everything in advance, we feel a certain annoyance for it.
Despite this, we take care to silence that voice that tells us that something is wrong. We often end up answering "that's the way things are" and that we have to be satisfied. We feed conformity, hiding in ideas and premises (such as maturity) that are not always as reasonable as they appear.
An effect of the habit cycle: fear of risk
One of the most damaging effects of habit is that little by little it makes us more and more fearful. Without realizing it, we end up feeling fear of anything that is unfamiliar to us or that requires some kind of change or novelty.
Automatism takes over. Whenever we face something new, alarms go off as if we are facing a threat. We no longer face change with enthusiasm and curiosity, but with prejudice and fear. We lose the openness towards the different.
Procrastinate indefinitely
There is also room in the cycle of habit to desire something different. We find ourselves thinking that perhaps we will be able to achieve a given goal or feel more satisfied if we did this rather than that. If we arm ourselves with the courage necessary to undertake any activity or even just to change.
The problem is that we often close all these dreams and projects in a drawer. There they have to wait for more favorable conditions, for an opportunity to arise, or for certain conditions to be met, etc. But we know well that it is much more likely that they will remain closed to you forever.
The constant lack of interest
One of the clearest signs of being trapped in the cycle of habit is boredom. It manifests itself as a feeling of disinterest in everything. We are not passionate enough about anything and we are not excited about anything in particular.
We do not vibrate in the face of life; flat emotions prevail. Without being fully aware of it, we begin to live as if we are "wasting time". We end up assuming this state as if it were something natural and logical, when it is not at all.
The force of habit is very powerful. In itself it is not negative, as it helps to give us stability. But when it takes over everything, it turns into a net that catches us and suffocates us. We should never give in to it. Small changes, like taking a different route or eating something new, can be a good way to start breaking out of this prison.
