In trying to describe a habit I think of anything that I lean to naturally, any behaviors that lead to known quantities or expected outcomes. In doing any sort of body work (yoga, deep breathing, anything related to singing are examples) the efficiencies provided by our physical systems are meant to assist in ease of completion, yet over time, they provide negative benefits. Even habits of discipline can aid lack of mindfulness, blinkered thinking or stuffiness when looking at new material.
Donna asks, "what are helpful habits and what are not, and what makes up the difference? Where do these habits come from...what kind of habits are actually going on inside and/or are characteristic of "the big middle?" Does one have to identify habits in order to bust out of them...." (see her comments attached to the transformation post for the full monte).
The big middle is the ideal 'location' to challenge habits because getting those pesky bad habits exposed to sunlight and examination reduces the likelihood they can do lasting damage. However some habits are of a friendly nature and need nurturing. Which are the weeds and which the flowers?
One place to start is where I am now, what exactly is the big middle?
- of the country
- my possible existence
- a transitional spot or the main event
- is my big middle full of the same artifacts and milestones as it is for others (hunting for universality)
Examination of habits invites a review of roles. A feature of the big middle is where there is room for pre-defined roles to be set aside for more rewarding, dimensional and bespoke behaviors and processes. Recent writings on mass behavior suggest that American men returning from the horrors of WWII sought structure and predictability and laid out the suburban landscape that directs family life in this country since the 1950's up to today (see this week's Economist magainze). Well defined roles do enable hard work, stability and goal setting. They also occasionally stifle creativity, hinder innovation and at worst provide the backdrop for atrocity as smothered individuals thrash about.
As we assume a role, we acquire habits to suit. This is where danger lurks, definition becomes hardened and the imposition of external expectation leaves us in a strait jacket. Stieg Larsson's thoughts on girls with dragon tattoos exemplifies the unpleasantness of society that imposes views on individuals without flexibility or attention to room for individuality.
So dump all habits and bust out of our roles? Like all of creative conundrums, it's never that easy.
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2 comments:
Your post keeps me thinking about the subject of habits as seen through your dual lens: the purpose [or purposes] of habits; second, their relation to life "in the big middle."
First, I like your notion that the big middle is both a mental place shaped in part by habits, and a time-frame, that is, a mid-point on a journey from here to there. A chunk of life has already been lived, and now life experience tugs at the heart and begs the owner to engage in some personal reflection, some self-examination and assessment. And the big middle is the perfect place to do this.
In thinking about all of this, it is my view that by mid-course our "habits" have found a home. They are so much a part of us and have become so routine/ingrained that without our consciously knowing it, they have shaped a lot of our personal story. I am thinking here that this probably includes habits of taste, habits of process, habits of procrastination, habits of instinctive response whatever the context, setting, or subject.
All this stuff puts us on a path--one we may or may not like. It seems to me that lack of generative creative energy connected to known personal potential is a realization become a subject that often hits at mid-life. Our habits of action no longer satisfy us in the way they once did. So we ask in various ways, "Is this all there is? I've known better." Enter the energies of transition and transformation. The big middle has come alive. And with it the impulse for change, assuming one has the courage and stamina for change.
Another thing. Inside the big middle lies a big story--a personal story, and as suggested earlier, one made in part out of habits. Moreover, with the story being placed in the middle, it is an unfinished story. A lot still needs to be written. And given the will to "write," this middle situation generates incredible opportunities. Everywhere.
To steal images from vegetation--up to he middle part of life, there has been a lot of seeding, planting, watering, pruning, general cultivation. And each of these actions involve habits or something close to habits--ways of doing things. And these actions relate back to story. They create it.
All this can be viewed from yet another lens, that is, the earlier one of transition and transformation. Said differently, one can actually do this transforming work in a personally significant way because the gardener has gained both experience and expertise. And there are others out there to help with the work. That makes for an exciting and potentially creative "big middle.
But now comes risk, courage, and the will to decision-making. That's the hard stuff. But the potential for new richness is always there, with flowers rather than weeds. And so the story moves. And the garden grows.
Let the "busting" begin.
Your post keeps me thinking about the subject of habits as seen through your dual lens: the purpose [or purposes] of habits; second, their relation to life "in the big middle."
First, I like your notion that the big middle is both a mental place shaped in part by habits, and a time-frame, that is, a mid-point on a journey from here to there. A chunk of life has already been lived, and now life experience tugs at the heart and begs the owner to engage in some personal reflection, some self-examination and assessment. And the big middle is the perfect place to do this.
In thinking about all of this, it is my view that by mid-course our "habits" have found a home. They are so much a part of us and have become so routine/ingrained that without our consciously knowing it, they have shaped a lot of our personal story. I am thinking here that this probably includes habits of taste, habits of process, habits of procrastination, habits of instinctive response whatever the context, setting, or subject.
All this stuff puts us on a path--one we may or may not like. It seems to me that lack of generative creative energy connected to known personal potential is a realization become a subject that often hits at mid-life. Our habits of action no longer satisfy us in the way they once did. So we ask in various ways, "Is this all there is? I've known better." Enter the energies of transition and transformation. The big middle has come alive. And with it the impulse for change, assuming one has the courage and stamina for change.
Another thing. Inside the big middle lies a big story--a personal story, and as suggested earlier, one made in part out of habits. Moreover, with the story being placed in the middle, it is an unfinished story. A lot still needs to be written. And given the will to "write," this middle situation generates incredible opportunities. Everywhere.
To steal images from vegetation--up to he middle part of life, there has been a lot of seeding, planting, watering, pruning, general cultivation. And each of these actions involve habits or something close to habits--ways of doing things. And these actions relate back to story. They create it.
All this can be viewed from yet another lens, that is, the earlier one of transition and transformation. Said differently, one can actually do this transforming work in a personally significant way because the gardener has gained both experience and expertise. And there are others out there to help with the work. That makes for an exciting and potentially creative "big middle.
But now comes risk, courage, and the will to decision-making. That's the hard stuff. But the potential for new richness is always there, with flowers rather than weeds. And so the story moves. And the garden grows.
Let the "busting" begin.
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