Most of us have heard the cliché before, that humans are
creatures of habit. Like most cliché’s there is a degree of truth to that
statement. As creatures of habit, most (if not all of us) unfortunately pick up
bad habits along with our positive routines. Did you ever consider how this can
play out with our emotions? It is quite possible that a lot of our negative
emotions can have a habitual component. For example, did you ever experience an
emotionally rough few days and when its over say to yourself, “Wow I really let
my anger/stress/depression, get the best of me and I acted like a real Ogre for
the past few days” Consider a few more examples for further self-examination:
‘Habitual Depression” – The point here is not to make light
of clinical depression which often goes deeper than just thinking happy
thoughts to get better. Still, many individuals are not clinically depressed
but we still may be prone to getting into emotional ruts and long periods of
just being a “downer”. Did you ever think about the possibility that you can
get caught up in the “habit” of just being overly negative and pessimistic?
Have you ever caught yourself getting stuck in an extended period where
everything is hopeless and crappy even when it really isn’t as bad as you may
think?
“Habitual Anger” – There are so many things in this world
that can get you upset as the world is full of examples of injustice,
unfairness, oppression, stress, rudeness, danger, or whatever else gets you
riled up. The problem can be however, that sometimes we can get in the habit of
getting ticked off by every little thing. Did you ever catch yourself getting
caught in a rut where you make sure to notice and react to every little thing
that gets on your nerves? Have you ever noticed yourself getting into a pattern
of allowing yourself to get angrier about things than is necessary, perhaps
even at times overreacting?
“Habitual Resentment” – I can use my kids as an example for
this one. Sometimes I can catch my kids falling into a pattern of what I call
“Fighting for Sport” – This involves them getting into a series of arguments
with each other over stuff that really has no real basis for contention. This
happens when they get on each other’s nerves from previous disagreements then
instead of letting go, finding reasons to start up new meaningless squabbles
with each other just because of sour feelings from the past. Do you ever catch
yourself getting into a pattern stirring up trouble with others who may have
hurt, annoyed or upset you earlier?
"Habitual ______ " - (Fill in the blank; for example Fear,
Anxiety, Stress, Despair, Grief, Apathy, Irritability, Impatience etc.) – The
list goes on. It can be extremely helpful and valuable to be able to use our
powers of insight and introspection to catch ourselves when we let negative
emotions catch on like bad habits. I know from experience as I too have had
those moments of clarity after finding myself in a counterproductive patch of
time where I recognized I was getting caught up in the ‘bad habit” of allowing
negative emotions to get the best of me. It is a lot like waking up from a bad
dream and realizing you can leave the negativity behind and move forward. It
can simply be a matter of saying “OK, enough is enough I am going try to stop
being ________ (Negative emotion) now!
If you are one of those people who have got it together so
well mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that none of this ever happens to
you then I say good for you! Keep up the good work! For the rest of us who
still consider ourselves to be a work in progress there is still hope. The best
thing out of all of this is that if we can get caught up in emotional bad
habits, then by the same token we can practice getting into a pattern of
emotional good habits. If you are a creature of habit then make it your goal
instead to get in the habit of working on positive emotions. Strive to be habitually:
happy, patient, relaxed, peaceful, forgiving, etc.
