By Design or By Default

As mentioned recently in Attention, what we give our attention to greatly impacts the quality of our life. Therefore, we must be diligent to direct our attention so that it does not drift by default.

In much the same way, our habits are created, either by design or by default. We all have habits – good and bad – and I would be willing to bet that many of those positive habits are by design and many of the negative ones happen by default. But either way, the quality of our lives is very much made up of the quality of our habits.

People rarely drift into effective routines and practices. Positive habits require diligence and intentionality, just as breaking bad habits requires much of the same.

So, as we head into the new year – with many of us taking stock of our habits and what we would like to change going forward – be mindful of the habits you allow into your life. Although designing helpful and healthful habits requires effort, it is generally far easier to create good habits than it is to break the habits you drifted into.

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