Habits, not just routines.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a habit is as follows:
When I first started washing the dishes every day in February it was not easy. In fact it was incredibly difficult. I'm a contrary person. I didn't want to do something just because I told myself to. It wasn't that I would forget, it was that it would be physically painful to carry out the task.
And that still happens sometimes. On Wednesday night I did not want to wash the last of the evening dishes. It had been a long day. I went to a class from 9-4. I finished a take home exam. I did a 40 minute martial arts class and cleaned the bathroom.
Nonetheless when I tell myself 'it is ok to skip this time' I do it anyway. On Monday I did martial arts at the university because I didn't have time to do it at home. I had no intention of doing martial arts on Monday, but it bothered me not to. I wanted to do it. Just like I want to do the dishes. It has become a settled practice. It has become almost involuntary.
What is more I enjoy it. I enjoy keeping the house clean. I want to do these things because they have become habit. I have trained myself to feel joy in their completion. It wasn't easy for me. As someone with ADHD and depression I need to consciously trigger the reward centres in my brain. Sometimes I do this by jumping up and down or flailing. Lately I've simply taken a moment to look at my work and feel glad.
"A settled disposition or tendency to act in a certain way, esp. one acquired by frequent repetition of the same act until it becomes almost or quite involuntary; a settled practice, custom, usage; a customary way or manner of acting."
When I first started washing the dishes every day in February it was not easy. In fact it was incredibly difficult. I'm a contrary person. I didn't want to do something just because I told myself to. It wasn't that I would forget, it was that it would be physically painful to carry out the task.
And that still happens sometimes. On Wednesday night I did not want to wash the last of the evening dishes. It had been a long day. I went to a class from 9-4. I finished a take home exam. I did a 40 minute martial arts class and cleaned the bathroom.
Nonetheless when I tell myself 'it is ok to skip this time' I do it anyway. On Monday I did martial arts at the university because I didn't have time to do it at home. I had no intention of doing martial arts on Monday, but it bothered me not to. I wanted to do it. Just like I want to do the dishes. It has become a settled practice. It has become almost involuntary.
What is more I enjoy it. I enjoy keeping the house clean. I want to do these things because they have become habit. I have trained myself to feel joy in their completion. It wasn't easy for me. As someone with ADHD and depression I need to consciously trigger the reward centres in my brain. Sometimes I do this by jumping up and down or flailing. Lately I've simply taken a moment to look at my work and feel glad.
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