Resolutions and Habits

My favorite saying is an old Chinese Proverb, "if you don't change your direction, you are likely to end up going where you are headed."

I like it because it underscores the perpetual nature of development. Life isn't about resolutions. It's about habits. The actions we take on a daily basis determine our skill sets. Talents we don't develop atrophy. The longer they atrophy, the harder they are to get back. Aspects of our lives we focus on tend to develop and blossom. If you obsess over Bell Biv Devoe albums, you're going to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of some craptastic R&B. If you do push ups every day, you're going to get some pectoral muscles.

If you want to change your life, the key isn't to make a set of goals. Rather, take the goals you have, and the dreams you want to pursue, and make them into habits. If you want to be a better writer, you have to get into the habit of writing daily (the purpose of this blog for me).

For most of us, our lives can broken down into a half-dozen or so habits. We have consistent work, diet, sleep, exercise, relationship, and entertainment routines that govern our existence.

It sounds so basic, but once a habit gets set, it ceases to be a conscious decision. It starts to become life. Frequently, what we value gets lost in what we do, usually because it's easy. When that happens, your life tends to get lost in what you do. And that's hard to get back.

Happy New Year and Best of Luck in 2011.