Creatures of habit – A Simple Habit that leads to a Winning Mindset
It is said that we are all Creatures of Habit which means, majority of the time, the things that we do in day to day life are done out of habit. For example, I have a wonderful neighbour kind retired old lady who at 8:00 AM sharp, goes out to buy a Cup of coffee and a Newspaper. So, precise and punctual is her timing that, I started keeping track of time just by looking at her. No matter, whether it is raining or Sunny, she always does this everyday consistently.
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| That’s my Desk at Work |
It is said that; our habits are like default settings on a computer. As soon as you start it, they load automatically like, the Wall paper, Time, desktop settings, folders etc. The moment we get up from the bed, the default programs called Habits start working and makes us do things that we are habituated to do. The problem is that, the habits can be of good or bad and that determines a person’s success in life. And, as it is said, Habits are dam hard to give up. In-fact, almost impossible. The only way you can change a habit is by replacing them with something better for your long term.
So, one simple habit that I noticed would make a lot of impact and difference is getting up in the morning. Of course, we all work or party hard and go to bed late but, still need to get up on time to meet deadlines, jobs etc. So, what do we do? We put an Alarm in our mobile and go to bed. And, when it rings in the morning at the exact time we set it to, what do we do? We snooze it and go back to sleep. Snooze, again and again, until we star feeling most terrible, frustrated and forced to get up and go. I used to have a friend, who is an expert in snoozing the alarm. So, he used to do shift work in a Petrol Station and had to go in the morning shift to relive the guy who started in the night shift. Not only, he would be snoozing the Alarm but, answering the calls that the worried colleague calling him to make sure that he is on his way. First call, he would say..yeah, I got up. Second call, brushing my teeth. Third call, about to take bath. Fourth call, in a taxi etc. Finally, when he is supposed to reach the work, he will stop answering his mobile and starts getting ready frantically. And, no wonder he would be late to work with lamest excuses like, the Taxi had a flat Tyre, I forgot my wallet at home and had to go back etc.
Psychologists say that, the first thing that you do in the morning determines your mindset or attitude for whole day. During the course of day, so many things could go wrong and so is your motivation. So, if you can get up in the morning for the first ring of Alarm, without pressing the snooze button, you are already a winner. You won the first battle of the day against your biggest enemy called the Mind (also your best friend if controlled). And, then as an extra bonus, you can make your bed, fold the comforter and pillows in proper place, that’s a bonus. Subconsciously, you will be started your day with a feeling of accomplishing some work. And, no matter whatever happens during the day, you will still have the feeling of accomplishment and a positive attitude that will keep you going for the rest of the day.
As a famous saying ‘Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude’. This may sound simple, but worked personally wonders for me and sure will be a Habit that changes your lives. Few words of caution are. make sure whatever happens, you are not hitting the snooze button which is accepting the defeat before even starting the day. Be, realistic and have reasonable expectations. If you are sleeping at 12:00 PM in the night, don’t put an alarm for 5 AM in the morning. And, if you do than get up and become a Winner.