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I have been thinking a lot about bad habits and our ability to change them or change negative personality traits. I think a lot about things I do and don't do and even when I spend a lot of time in self reflection I find some things feel impossible to totally overcome. I try and try and just cannot do it. What do you all think? I think about the kind of friend or listener I am... do I give as much as I get from people? Do I show enough appreciation? What am I teaching my kids by my example, without planning on it? Am I the only one who thinks this much?
Here are a few of my bad habits, and some I have overcome or am trying to. I won't be sharing them all (for obvious reasons).
1-Staying up WAY too late at night. I have a goal to go to bed by 12:30am, which is late. I rarely ever make it.
2-Clutter (I am constantly working on this one). My house may not be dirty but I am always working on removing the clutter. I try and develop organization that will prevent it but it doesn't always work. One is I throw the mail out before coming in the house and file the rest. But its these piles of toys or other odds and ends I never know what to do with. Like the missing sock pile or the kids art stuff that is left out.
3-Misplacing things. I try to be organized but I am often very scatterbrained. I lose things often. Once when I was really tired I was looking for my cell phone, while talking on it?
4-Eating and exercising is one I feel like I have finally made progress on (although its a life process). I have been working out and hour or more 5 days a week since January. I still have time to go to get the results I want but I feel like I can get there and can continue this change.
So what are your bad habits? How have you changed them? Are there some habits that we cannot change and just need to try and control more? Comments anyone?
Friday, July 20, 2007
Bad Habits...
Posted by Laura at 12:15 AM
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10 comments:
there are two bad habits that i have that i have tamed.
1) drinking diet pepsi EVERYDAY, ALL DAY. i have been soda free (completely, not even a drop) for 2 months now!
2) biting my nails. i have done this for as long as i can remember. i have not done that in about a month.
now, those are not my only bad habits, but they are the ones i don't mind sharing right now. i definitely have the clutter habit as well and like you are constantly working on it, but never fully overcoming it. (don't know as i ever will either).
i think for the most part, those that you listed come along with parenthood, especially with a bunch of kids, because most of those require time that just isn't there, so, i do think there are some that just cannot be changed and we just have to do our best to control them. that of course is just my opinion! have a great week and realx a little. your doing a great job with your kids!!!
OK, one of my bad habits is that I pick at my feet. They are always bare and usually pretty war torn so there's always dry skin....you get the picture. I don't know that I'll work on this one. I do need to eat healthier and exercise. I'm in the habit of not exercising and that is a habit I'd love to not have. BUT, one of my worst habits is that I'm demanding. When I want something done or it's not done to my liking I can be a real butt. I've been really trying to work on this one!
I stay up too late because i'm on the computer. I went to bed early last night and actually woke up feeling refreshed, so there's something to be said about sleeping more than 4 hours a night! LOL!
After I read your post, I thought a lot about my bad and good habit. I divided them up into three categories. 1) My BAD habits:
I am always late for everything! I just can't seem to get places on time. We are late for church almost every week (tomorrow Lloyd is giving the opening prayer so we need to be on time). I'm always late for my classes at the gym. Courtney absolutely hates being late. Thank goodness, I didn't drive her to school last year. We carpooled and I picked up after school, but I was usually late for taht too. My second bad habit is not getting "dressed" a lot of days. I will hang out in my workout clothes or my PJs for most of the day. My third bad habit is not cleaning my bathrooms. For some reason I always put that job off and never do it for weeks. My last bad habit is not flossing. I need to do this if I want to keep my teeth. 2) Habits I'm improving on: I am learning not to take so much on. I am happier and more relaxed when I'm not so busy. I told Lloyd I'm not going to be the room Mom this year and I don't need to volunteer in the classroom every week. I am also getting better at not comparing myself with others. I have learned to appreciate who I am and have realized we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I am trying to be better at not nagging Lloyd or insisting my way is better. I use to always tell him what the fastest route was when he was driving or where the best parking spot is, now I just stay quiet. I have really gotten better about biting my tongue and not giving my opinion unless it's asked for. I have also gotten better about not saying anything negative about others. Finally, I have improved on wearing sunscreen on my face. I try to wear it whenever I am in the sun. I'm already getting fine lines and wish I had been better about sunscreen when I was younger. 3)Gooh habits I have: I am pretty good about remembering the birthdays of friends and family. I exercise religiously. Right now I am training for a half marathon and I'm up to 7.5 miles. I really try to stay caught up with my scrapbooking (even though my techniques aren't very special). I'm about 9 mos. behind, but I think that's pretty good with five kids. Finally, I'm actually really good about clutter. I hate clutter and am always getting rid of things. I give things away or throw them away. I actually love to clean out closets. Since our house is small, I don't want a lot of clutter around. You didn't mention your GOOD habits/talents. I know some! You always have your kids looking so cute with their hair and their outfits. You are so good with technology (ie ebay, your blog, and you're the one who showed me how to use Tivo). You are so supportive to other moms by volunteering and encouraging them. You're also very talented at scrapbooking. You really get bargains by shopping around and buying things at the right time. You have a lot to be proud of. I appreciate your talents! Love, Kristi
Your comments meant a lot to me Kristi. I did not mention not giving unwanted advice as one of mine but I have been trying to learn to keep my mouth shut more, I really do not need to share a lot of what I think about things. I could have sworn you did not have any bad habits, you are so efficient!
HI Laura. Stopped by your blog since you popped into mine and had to say that we seem to share bad habits! I can't shake my "staying up late" bad habit, even now that the twins are home and I KNOW I should be trying to get a good sleep (whether it's in the day or night...)
We are working diligently on our clutter problems, but it's a slow process because I LOVE to collect things. Wexford depression class, coins, guitars and amps, clothes...clothes...and oh yeah, clothes...
I do think that with the arrival of children, there really isn't enough time in the day to get rid of all my bad habits. BUT I have found that in the exercise arena, doing housework and yardwork IS exercise, so I kill two birds with one stone. Like today, I mowed our entire half acre all by my lonesome, hills and all, and weedwacked the drainage ditch and I feel like I just left one of my 5-hour long black belt tests!
Yeh, so bad habits will die hard, but thankfully I don't think I have any habits that would hurt if my children picked them up. That's a plus...
-Kate (or lilyandevemom at the MOMO site...)
OMG...my eyes were bulging as I was reading this post! These are EXACTLY the same bad habits I have.
My Husband is constantly making smart comments about my absurd bedtime. I have tried to make my limit 1am, but often I sneak in at around 2 or 3am.
I also misplace things CONSTANTLY. Its really rediculous. I am currently waiting for my new debit card in the mail and using a spare set of keys...seriously
I am still trying to get myself to the gym, but I think the sleep factor is really playing a major role in that.
And lastly, clutter & organization. I am a sick perfectionist at heart. Before I had kids my home looked like a model home. Now I often think I would be embarrassed if someone just popped by. It has piles in every corner and it drives me bananas. I am really working on this one. I am about to get militant about it and start assigning chores to my husband and myself along with a schedule so we can stay on top of it...LOL
I guess the first step in changing a bad habit is recognizing it right?
ps- I Love your header pic!
Girl, I am with you on EACH and EVERY one of your bad habits.
Sigh.....
Laura I love your new header too! GREAT pic of your kids!!
Also, I just wanted to say that I love your blog! You always make me think and always make me appreciative of my kids. Your posts often my me reflect on my life and family. Thank you!
Bad habits??? Too many to list!
I too stay up too late because it is my only ME time. I long for a clutter-free home like it was BK (before kids!) I am hoping the new and bigger house will help us with that. I plan on not taking half of everything we have with us when we move! (Yeah right!) I cannot seem to get my butt back in gear and on a regular exercise program and I really need to kick the late night snack habit and lose a few pounds....I could go on, but I'll stop there!!
Angie
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