Monday, July 04, 2011

Road Trips and Breaking Habits

I went on a road trip recently and I noticed that my habits were disrupted. Though I'm usually quite diligent in spending time reading my Bible and praying each day, I found that I was not doing that consistently while on the road.

I suspect that my habits were formed in one environment and when I moved into a new environment the cues I used to perform those habits were missing and I tended to get slack.

This suggests to me that ...

a) my good habits need to have stronger internal cues, rather than just external ones, and

b) just as my good habits were easier to break in a new environment, perhaps bad habits might also be easier to break in a new environment. Need to quit smoking or something? Maybe combine the effort with a change of routine, or a trip. Might help.

Hmmm. But then, of course, you'll probably need to come home at some point and it will be easy to slip into the old habits, unless - of course - you are moving permanently. But even if you return home, at least you get a headstart!