Sitting in a newly opened bakery and enjoying a nice cake, I appreciated how nicely it was baked because all of the ingredients were well mixed and of good consistency. I wondered if that wasn't true for everything in life. Consistency creates habits, which define our approach to life and, as a result, how happy or satisfied we are.
Sipping a nice cup of coffee with a nice consistency of milk, water, and cocoa made me think that we all have the inherent strength, ideas, and intentions to achieve results, so why do only a few people succeed? Is it luck, fate, or some other factor at work?
When we were students, we wanted to take proper, regular notes, attend classes, and get good grades at the beginning of each academic session. But after the first week, we gave ourselves leeway to be lenient for a day, then a week, and by the time we realised, the year had passed us by, and we blamed it on bad company, distractions, and sometimes even teachers. Isn't it the same for the workplace? We blame our co-workers, competitors and seniors, but the question is, are we consistent in our effort every day? When the allure of a task wears off , we either perceive it to be simple, boring, or overly difficult. If by much effort, we get close to finishing the task, the last mile appears to be the longest. However, it is not the last mile that is the longest, but it is the point at which our willpower or interest are exhausted, that makes it feel difficult.
Similarly in our relationships, whether with family or friends, if we don't get into a habit of spending quality time with them on a regular basis, a drift begins and eventually the gap becomes so large that we can't bridge it.
I believe this is the same reason why religious rituals, such as mantra chanting, Sunday church prayers, fasting on specific days, and so on, were instituted in the first place. All of this helps us develop the habit of repeating the same prayer to the Supreme Being, providing us with the much-needed faith and assurance to keep moving even in the most difficult circumstances.
Many health businesses make a lot of money based on this psychological fact; many of us join health clubs at the start of the year and leave well before the 15th of January because maintaining consistency is boring and, ah! there is always a next month.
This is also a fundamental based on which the finance industry has picked up. Mutual funds thrive on monthly Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) which is nothing more than making a habit of consistently saving and similar can be sent for loan EMIs. Unfortunately, when you fail to follow these financial habits, there is a penalty to pay that we can see, but there is a similar penalty for other habits that are not followed on a regular basis that we can not see. Non-financial inconsistencies result in more severe penalties, which are difficult to quantify but are serious, such as unhappiness, restlessness, dissatisfaction etc.
As I pay the bill and leave, I realise the power of habit and how controlling one's mind of distraction helps make the habit of focusing on right objectives and allowing us to live a happy and fulfilled life.
This morning my daily affirmations diary mentioned about the same "Good and bad habits both take time to acquire force. Powerful bad habits can be displaced by opposite good habits if the latter are patiently cultured." - Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda
