Creatures of Habit

I have heard this phrase used so many times to explain those behaviors that we all do routinely. It got me thinking. Are we really creatures of habit or Conditioned to the point that what we think is ‘normal’ has become normal? I get up each morning and brush my teeth, use the bathroom, pour a cup of coffee and take a moment to greet the day. I am sure that everyone reading this blog goes through some form of morning routine.

But, what happens when you go on vacation? The routine is not the same is it? What happens when you run out of coffee or your alarm doesn’t work and the habitual behaviors are altered? Will you see the same people on the bus, at the donut shop or in the elevator? How will this change affect your day? Will you roll with it or have a bad day because of it?

I believe that we are conditioned to act the way we do. Routine helps us remember to do certain things but frequently, there is no real routine to anything that we do. Dictionary.com defines Conditioning as a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment. We take pleasure in seeing the same people in passing each day. We enjoy sipping a cup of coffee, tea or water in the morning. We derive a certain comfort level in knowing what comes next.

However, we can become so ‘conditioned’ that we are unable to change and be flexible in our lives. Everything changes. When we break free of conditioned behaviors that control our waking moments, then we are at liberty to create the future as we want it to be. We are not creatures of habit. We are creatures of conditioning.

So, on that note, the quote of the day is:

“We can spin our wheels doing what everyone else wants us to do or we can take control of our life and roll with the reality that we choose.”tc