New Habit Needed

Today I drove our tiny Smart Car while Russ took the hybrid in for an oil change.  I have been driving the new car for a few months so it was only fair that Russ got the chance to drive it and get the service.  When I got in the Smarty I went to start it by pushing the start button like I do on the new car, but then realized I actually needed to put a key in the ignition to make it go.  For the previous thirty-five years I have had to put a key in the ignition to start a car, but after only a few months of key-less driving I forgot how to drive an old car.  It only took a little while for me to create a new habit and throw my old one out the window.

Changing a habit, be it something mundane like starting a car, or something pleasurable like putting sugar on your breakfast cereal, can be done just by repeating it over and over again for just a short while.

The word habit seems to have gotten a bad reputation.  People talk about smoking as “their habit” and we all know how the world feels about smoking.  But smoking is more than just a habit it is an addiction.

Some habits are good.  I wake up every morning and go in the bathroom and the third thing I do in there is brush my teeth.  You can guess what the first two things are.  That is my habit.  Actually it is also my addiction.  I really can’t start the day until I have brushed my teeth.  I don’t know when this became a habit because I can clearly remember as a child lying to my mother when she asked me if I had brushed my teeth.  Why would I lie about that?  When did I realize how much better my mouth felt after brushing?  I must have gotten up enough mornings in a row and brushed my teeth that I created a new and frankly better habit.

So where is the line between a habit and an addiction?  Is something only an addiction if it is bad for you?  No.  Yet I hardly know anyone who will tell you they are addicted to spinach, bacon yes, but mustard greens, no.

Thinking about trying to start the car got me wondering if  I could train myself to create one healthy new habit during the summer.  Just a few months of doing the same thing every day and I think it would be enough to make something a habit.  I have no idea what habit I want to pick up.  I already work out four times a week and eat a fairly healthy diet.  So I need suggestions from you as to what good habit I should try and pick up.  What would improve my life and be simple to do everyday and not take too much time?