Sundaymail Editor
Changing Perspectives Making a Difference
Rutendo Gwatidzo
Have you heard that habits become character and character becomes who you are?
Your life is what you make it through your habits.
Sometimes habits start as feelings that you tolerate until they become your character.
In other words, feelings may become who you are.
For instance, you may feel like giving up because the task is hard.
You may feel like waking up at 9am every day, yet to need to report at work by 8am then you get into the habit of arriving late for work.
Someone else may feel like not studying because it takes away their free time.
The next person may feel like spending their school fees on something else because others are spending theirs on other things.
There are also those who may feel like taking drugs because they are feeling weak or depressed.
The question I have for you is, do you evaluate your feelings before acting upon them?
“Take me and 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!” (author unknown)
Control your feelings
While growing up I used to think that feelings cannot be controlled.
I thought that one ought to do as he or she feels all the time.
I used to think that if I want something I simply throw tantrums and then it comes my way. I had to learn the hard way after receiving a spanking or hiding from my parents.
As I grew up, I then realised that good things do not come on a silver platter. You have to be deliberate and intentional about making your life sweet. Understand that what you feel like doing is not always good for you.
Yes, it may sound good because it can temporarily satisfy your feelings, however, the results might not be good in the long run.
Try to look at the bigger picture and see the effects of what happens if you act according to how you feel all the time.
The desire of many
I believe that waking up to breakfast on bed, followed by a mid-morning cappuccino, juice or fruits, which is then followed by a good lunch meal, an afternoon tea, a mouth-watering dinner and an evening tea is the kind of life that many of us desire.
However, to have this kind of life someone has to work hard for it.
Certain habits like too much sleep, laziness and overspending, just to mention a few, should be plucked out of your life.
There is no one who grows up with the aim of failing in life.
All of us want to succeed.
We want to “have it all” regardless of our circumstances; but not all of us want to accept that we need to fight for that success.
Doing away with unproductive habits is key.
Be careful
It may take time to notice the effects of the unproductive habits you may have, but, in one way or the other, you reap what you sow.
Warren Buffet once said, “Chains of habits are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
For instance, some people have remained in the same position in the same company and on the same grade for a long time.
Others may have come after you and got promoted and you wonder why.
You probably need to look at the habits you developed that discredit you every day without you realising them.
Some of these habits may be arriving late at work, frequently extending your lunch hour and leaving too early from work and failing to meet deadlines.
On the other hand, you may be very friendly, get along with almost everyone but your habit of unproductivity may speak louder than you think.
Due to their unproductive habits, some people found themselves with unwanted pregnancies and babies.
Others found themselves jobless and others lost business partners.
Others found themselves getting a divorce while others found themselves failing in school.
There are also others who found themselves in prison due to habits that they tolerated.
My advice
As we journey into 2022, get rid of those unproductive habits that you probably know about already.
Others may need to re-evaluate their feelings before they become habits.
Discarding bad habits may lead to a better life.
Habits are not an event; they are a lifestyle. If you do not get tough with bad habits, I believe they will get tough with you.
To undo bad habits, you may need to start by asking people around you, especially those you spent a lot of time with, to tell you about the unpleasant things that you do.
Evaluate the effects of such habits and once you realise that they are bad, you probably need to find accountability partner(s) to help you walk out of those habits.
Take a few steps at a time because drastic changes are difficult.
Try to make the process exciting, you may even reward yourself as you go.
We are what we repeatedly do, success is therefore not an event, it is a habit.
As we execute our plans for the year 2022 be challenged to break bad habits.
Be encouraged to adopt good habits and be inspired to make a difference.
The struggle is real but the victory is certain if you are willing to fight with winning strategies.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, HR consultant and team builder. Contacts: 0714575805; [email protected]; Rutendo Gwatidzo Official on Facebook
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