Are We Creatures of Habit?

Absolutely!! Just look at yourself and you will quickly confirm that we are all creatures of habit. We take the same route to the grocery store, we sit in the same seat at the dinner table, we sleep on the same side of the bed, even if we're in a hotel, and we call our friends at the same time every day. There's nothing wrong with being a creature of habit, it's just boring, and it puts your brain on automatic pilot.



Recently I listened to an interview with a psychologist who was trying to change this. He felt that unbecomming a creature of habit would engage his brain differently, add excitement and spontaneity to his life, in short, mix it up a little. The more I thought about this, the more I decided it would be a great experiment and not make me so predictable. The researcher I listened to said his teenage kids thought he was crazy, but they actually enjoyed it as the experiment went on.



So what are some ways for us to become less predictable, less creatures of habit? The easiest and most obvious are to take a different route to the grocery store, sit in a different seat at the dinner table, sleep on the other side of the bed tonight. If you sleep alone, even your dog or cat will know that something is up. Other ways I've thought of to break lifelong habits are: if you go to church or temple, try a new church (same denomination) next week, get a different perspective. If you always call your kids on Sunday morning, try calling them on Thursday night. I guarantee they will comment on it or think something is wrong. Instead of eating dinner at your regular hour (yes, we're all creatures of habit on this one), eat an hour earlier or an hour later. If you never go out during the week, make plans to go out in the middle of the week, and if you always go out Saturday night, try staying home.



As a former teacher, I know that we all love routine. Kids do best in an environment where they are on a schedule. We all like to know what's coming next. This is just a little experiment that I'm going to try to take me out of my comfort zone, and to make my husband and others who spend a lot of time with me look at me as not so predictable. I think this is good for the brain, for your decisions are not on auto pilot. You need to think about which route you'll take to the store, which side of the bed you want to sleep on. So all you creatures of habit, try to change one of your habits. It may be as simple as having hot cereal for breakfast, instead the same old cold cereal you always have. I think your brain will enjoy it and your friends will find out that you're not always so predictable. With Thanksgiving just a few days off, how about changing the time of your traditional dinner or replacing that tired old green bean casserole with something completely new? Just a thought.