Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.
~Gordon Parks
We are creatures of habit, aren't we? We've been reading about habits on the blog of Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. Her books have detailed her search for happiness by "synthesiz[ing] the wisdom of the ages with current scientific research" and "experimenting with several concrete, manageable resolutions meant to boost her happiness". Her latest book, Better Than Before, investigates how changing your habits can transform your life, and make you happier. Her blog talks about "Foundation habits", the good habits that are the foundation for other good habits; "loophole-spotting", identifying the excuses we use to get ourselves out of the good habits we are trying to establish; the "5 traps" which undermine your good habits; and "are you a satisficer or a maximizer?" (Most people are a little of both; satisficers "are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria are met".)
It's all very fascinating, examining our habits and trying to change them. Now that we've started thinking about it, we can't stop! Here are some more books about habits and the changing of them to pique your interest:
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions
by John C. Norcross, with Kristin Loberg and Jonathon Norcross
Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change by by Shawn Achor
Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success by
Kerry Patterson ... [et al.]
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