Tinkle's Den

It is important to develop good habits.

“Habits are either the best of servants or the worst of masters” wrote Emmons. This saying rightfully tells that there are good as well as bad habits.
Habits are routines of behaviour that are repeated regularly and often subconsciously. With each repetition there is an increased automaticity in the behaviour. Scientifically, it takes about three weeks to establish or break a habit.

Why and when should we develop good habits?

“We first make our habits then our habits make us”. Habits, inculcated from a very early age, determine a person’s character. Good habits make a good individual. Good individuals are necessary for the development of the society and nation.

Mahatma Gandhi once told -
“Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior.
Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior become your habits.
Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.”

Good habits must be learnt in all ages, but most importantly in childhood and early adulthood. One must realize to engage in good habits in pursuit of good deeds and happiness. It is important to possess good habits to gain knowledge, develop skills and acquire positive attitude.

Eng’s principle states that “the easier it is to do, the harder it is to change”. The same can be said of good habits too. Most of the good habits are perceived to be difficult, for example, getting up early in the morning, eating healthy food, brushing after every meal, going for a walk, etc. A good habit always begins with motivation. For children, sometimes, it may even require incentives. Only perseverance will convert those repeated acts to a habit.

Why and when should we avoid bad habits?

Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, we feel tempted to get into it, but it’s very difficult to get out. Once a bad habit has developed, one may realize the ill effects of that quite late and it may be very difficult to break it then.

Bad habits are generally perceived to be easier and tempting, for example, consuming alcohol and illicit drugs, smoking, procrastination, giving excuses for work not done, etc.

If we suddenly drop a frog into boiling hot water, it may jump out and avoid death. But if we put in cold water and slowly bring it to boil, we may have it cooked before he knows it. Samuel Johnson once wrote “the chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Hence it is important to resist the temptation for bad actions every time, at every age. Otherwise we risk developing a bad habit that may spoil our future.

A cluster of habits determine a person’s character and destiny. It is necessary to develop good habits to be successful and realize our potential and to contribute to the development of our nation.

The time to develop good habits is NOW.