Since habits can also be bad, I tend to think of habits as those things that humans tend to do systematically due to addiction, boredom, or just rote behaviour. An example for the stereotypical person might be that they always have a glass of wine with dinner, or play online games at night, or watch specific TV shows. A hobby is something that I believe occurs because a person loves doing it, but doesn't necessarily get to enjoy it as a habit, although it can get to that frequency. Categorization of hobbies can be painting, reading, tennis, or whatever is enjoyed. As you can see, all of these items can easily transform into habits, but if that happens, are they still enjoyed as hobbies? Is that full measure of happiness met when you sit down with a good book, or is it so habitual that you don't notice or appreciate it as fully?
Then comes along me. People often compliment my discipline or focus. I want to seriously laugh when that happens because I am one of the least disciplined people ever. I forget to drink water. I'll have a perfect week of eating the right size of meals several times a day and feel great, then get stressed and space eating entirely. I have very few hobbies because I can barely get what I should get done to treat myself and my family right before I can transcend into even knowing what I enjoy.
Reflecting on this has brought me some realisation that I am so terrified of wasting away my life that I fill it with the long term goals and focus on getting to the end, leaving the end very anti-climatic and and empty void when it's complete. This is probably why whenever free time comes my way, it gets filled. I won't stop aiming for long term goals, but it's time to focus on taking care of myself (eating, drinking, exercise, spending time with family) by stop treating those items as hobbies (is it convenient to eat? No, I have to get this course finished) and make them into habits... then perhaps I can consider having a couple hobbies without stress of something (always something) needing done.
Bringing this tail around to make a circle, it's my hope that downloading the Habits app will help me realise that major accomplishments are great, but to take them one step at a time after the most important things are done...and enjoyed. People who know me very well will be happy to know that I've added habit maintenance items on the app to include
- drinking at least 3 pints of water a day
- sitting down and doing nothing at tea time
- doing a bit of Tai Chi, TKD and iBurn each day
- spending an hour of teaching Elle things each day
- spending an hour of actively playing with Elle each day
- reading an hour a day
Yes, there is still 4-5 hours of my career work to do each day as well as 3-4 hours of PhD work to do each day, but I think ensuring these habits are effectively ingrained in me is the first building block to enjoying the journey of my life. I'll worry about the other blocks when this one is fully embedded in concrete! Maybe this way I'll notice the pretty sky, how cute Elle is, and how damned lucky I am.
