Small changes
"No swearing for three days?" I asked Michaela, surprised and impressed.
"No, I haven't said one swear word in three days," she answered. "That's gotta be a record for me."
"What's the big damn deal about not swearing?" Emu asked, deliberately cursing. "What difference does it make?"
"Sometimes small changes make big differences," I answered. "Make one large change, like not drinking, then make as many small changes as you can to support that large change."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Suppose you stopped for a beer on your way home every night and you smoked a joint before you got out of bed every morning. You still have to go to work and you still have to get out of bed. You can't change those, right?"
"So?"
"So if you can't change those big things, change as many little things as possible to change the rhythm of your day. Change your work hours if you can. Change the route you take home. Rearrange your bedroom – get rid of your night stand if that's where you kept your weed. A lot of bad habits are patterns of small acts. Breaking the pattern makes dropping the habit easier.
"So why no swearing?" Emu asked Michaela.
"I'm trying to be a less angry, bitter person. I think swearing is tied to my anger, and I want to cut that tie. Small change. "
Today I will pick one small change I'd like to make.
AArdvarks (c) 2013 by Ken Montrose
"No, I haven't said one swear word in three days," she answered. "That's gotta be a record for me."
"What's the big damn deal about not swearing?" Emu asked, deliberately cursing. "What difference does it make?"
"Sometimes small changes make big differences," I answered. "Make one large change, like not drinking, then make as many small changes as you can to support that large change."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Suppose you stopped for a beer on your way home every night and you smoked a joint before you got out of bed every morning. You still have to go to work and you still have to get out of bed. You can't change those, right?"
"So?"
"So if you can't change those big things, change as many little things as possible to change the rhythm of your day. Change your work hours if you can. Change the route you take home. Rearrange your bedroom – get rid of your night stand if that's where you kept your weed. A lot of bad habits are patterns of small acts. Breaking the pattern makes dropping the habit easier.
"So why no swearing?" Emu asked Michaela.
"I'm trying to be a less angry, bitter person. I think swearing is tied to my anger, and I want to cut that tie. Small change. "
Today I will pick one small change I'd like to make.
AArdvarks (c) 2013 by Ken Montrose
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