I chanced upon this riddle on the internet recently. It’s titled ‘Who am I?’
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half of the things you do you might just as well turn over to me,
and I will be able to do them—quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed—you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done,
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great people,
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine though.
I work with the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for a profit or turn me for ruin— it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I? I AM HABIT.
Habit and Change
Last weekend, I attended a short session on adapting to change and one of the things we talked about is the formation of a habit. People say you need at least 21 days of continually doing something for it to become a habit. In the beginning, your brain will resist it. Why?
A neuro-scientist in the group explained that our brain needs to form patterns. When we are doing something new, the brain has no prior patterns stored for it to recall. This causes stress and our ancient brain will respond to it as a threat. This is the reason why people tell you to be patient and to continue doing it. We cannot short-cut this by much as our brain requires the time to form and store the patterns. This is also the reason why we fall back on old habits.
In the last 20 months, the volatility and speed of change that has been forced on us has caused a lot of anxiety and stress, some of which we don’t realise. I hope that knowing the science behind this will help you not to be too hard on yourself if you are struggling to adapt each time there is change.
Here’s hoping we develop and maintain habits to help us build resilience. We all need them.
Note: The source for the poem did not cite the author. If you are the author, please contact me so that I can credit you in this article.
(Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay )
About the Author: Gina Phan is a consultant and trainer with Zinfinity Consulting. She currently conducts courses in workplace performance skills. Click here to contact her, follow her on Facebook or connect with her on Linkedin.
#habits #forminghabits #VUCAworld #stress #anxiety #brainpatterns #change
#trainergina #ginaphan #gp
