HABITS AND ATTITUDES

Resisting Change ...

One of the jobs of the subconscious is to regulate automatic behavior, like respiration, digestion, circulation. These are reflex actions handled on the subconscious level where they become habits. What are habits.? They´re automatic, free-flowing actions that we don´t have to consciously think about. Habits are necessary because they allow us to comfortably do several tasks at the same time. We can talk while we drive. We can breathe while we eat. If we had to stop to consciously think about how we breathe, or how we digest food, or how we drive a car, we´d have difficulty doing it. If a football player consciously thought about how to run downfield between his opponents, reach up, and snare a pass, he´d probably never get off the line of scrimmage. He´d stand there thinking, ºººHow do I do it.? Let´s see: First the right foot, then the left.ººº He´d go nuts.

Tying our shoelaces became a habit when we were kids. It took a lot of effort at first, right.? You ever watch little kids try it.? Seems like their tongue has to be out or they can´t do it. They give it a tremendous effort. But once they´ve done it twenty or thirty time, it becomes a nice, free-flowing habit. Then they can try something else that requires their tongue to be hanging out.

Tying our shoelaces is a helpful habit, but other habits can hinder our growth. You know the saying. ººººPRACTICE MAKE PERFECT....? ºººº Is it true..? If you´re striving for excellence, practice does not make perfect. For example, when we were very young, we learned to do multiplication without thinking. If I asked you today, ºººWhat is two times two? you would automatically say, ºººFourºººº If I asked, ºººThree times three.? you would say, ºººNineººº Four times four.? Sixteen..ºº All very easy for you. But what if every time you practiced two times two, you came up with five.? If you did it thirty times, you´d have that habit down perfectly, except that every time you did it, you´d be doing it wrong. So only practice of perfection makes perfection.

Suppose that instead of ººººWhat is two times two.?ººº I asked you, what is sixty seven times eighty sixty? You would pass on that, well, I don´t know, but you could have just as easily habituated that one. There are las vegas croupiers who can automatically compute all the odds click click click as easy as two times two. You must practice excellence and make it a habit, You aren´t born with it.

Habits are fine, as long as everything stays the same. A habit that might have served us nicely three years ago might hinder us today, It is estimated, for example, that all of mankind´s accumulated knowledge can be doubled within the next five years, that´s how fast technology is changing, So we need to be aware that some of our habits will require updating if we expect to change and grow.

We must change our habits, as our children change, as our business changes, as our own needs change. We must keep making habits ººººcurrentººº.

changing habits and developing new ones is a challenge, Remember ºººlock on - lock outººº? It´s no trouble for our subconscious to lock out a new routine, even if it would help us achieve ten times more than what we do now. We feel more confortable with old habits because we don´t have to think about them consciously, In fact, once you have a habit down real good, if you bring it back to the conscious level, you mess up the automatic flow. Have you ever been asked to spell a familiar word.? You might say, ºººGive a pen. I have to write it outººº You know the word perfectly, but the stress of having to think about it causes you to be unsure. Ever try to teach somebody how to dance.? You can suddenly be awkward, uncertain. You wonder, Do I really know this dance.? You do know it, but you know it best subconsciously. Bring it to the conscious level, and you need to think it out...