What can I say, I have a lot of bad habits. Well, if I like to be defensive, I usually say that I have a lot of habits, good or bad is a matter of opinion! However, I think that I have a bigger problem. The problem is, since I am interested in a variety of different things, I have a terrible habit of picking up new hobbies quite frequently. Be it playing online spreadsheet soccer games or washing cars. Yes, washing cars ‘properly’ which is known as detailing can be a very rewarding experience. This is in no particular order, but there was a time I started playing Blackjack. You know the popular Casino/Gambling game. I loved it so much that I would play it online till 3 am, and then on the weekend, I would drive 2 hours to the nearest Casino by a sorry-looking, godforsaken truck stop by a major interstate! Sometimes, I would go there at 5 AM! Believe me, at that hour, truck stop casinos are reasonably busy. Now, you know, why I don’t hit the tables these days when I go to Las Vegas! Yeah, I love gambling too much.
Here is the good news. None of my habits, good or bad, are long-lasting. This is a major blessing in retrospect. Because the baddest of the habit usually passes by quite easily. Just have to give it some time. Unfortunately, for most people, that is not the case. Some bad habits unfortunately stay forever. It is likely that your loved ones have tried to kill your bad habits. Good for you! You have people who care for you. It is good that they are trying to kill your demons. People tried that with me as well, and I am obviously grateful. However, I did say it once I think:
If they try to slay all my demons, my angels may die too! ;)
Nowadays it's kinda hard to follow our human virtues properly. With a simple lie, we can easily make sure of an extra reward. In the pile of lies and social degradation, there is also a kind of people who are brutally honest no matter what the consequence will be, that's what makes them different from the mass crowd. Here is this week's featured author, who showed her this virtue to us and reminded us how important it is to be honest rather than living in lies.
Author 
We are also delighted to announce two honorable mentions of the week.
| Authors | Highlights |
|---|---|
 @zeraton | Look what I captured! - A Chilling Inkwell Prompt story |
| - | - |
 @vikbuddy | I forget (Poetry) |
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Bad habits, eh? Where do I start....
I've got quite a few options to choose from this time around. Even though mine aren't as "severe" or "unhealthy" compared to all the common bad habits. Because I somehow keep my habits under control. Yet, they still do bug me. They make me feel weak, quite literally from time to time and sometimes just in my own eyes. Making me feel as if I have no control over myself. Like I'm not even trying to be a better version of myself, not trying to be the Mr Perfect. Just letting it be as it is, staying happy with my messy habits and lifestyle.
Even though I do know the answers and ways to get rid of these habits of mine, I sometimes just decide not to implement them. And I guess that's what really bugs me, more than the habits themselves. Trying is key, the effort, giving it your all, that's numero uno in my books. It's a start at least, win or lose, whatever the outcome, that's for later. If you've even tried once, then at least when the time comes, whether it be you questioning yourself or someone else doing the questioning, you can say that you've tried. And I sure as hell know that I've tried, but I guess a part of me just likes it this way.
Yet, the question in my head is, how many people do you know who have absolutely no bad habits? Maybe they do have bad habits, but are they the kind of people who give it their all every damn time in every damn category and aspect of life? Do such people exist? I don't know about you folks, but no such name or character exists in my story, not yet, at least.
My own "bad habits" are really easy to get into and also quite easy to get rid of, easy in and easy out. These habits don't look quite "harmful" short-term; they surely don't deal much damage either. But hey, if we're talking short-term, almost everything and anything is far from being harmful.
The trouble really begins when these not so harmful actions turn into a common habit. When a cigarette a day turns into two cigarettes a day, soon enough, you find yourself smoking one pack a day. Even if we talk about fitness, healthy lifestyle choices, right? But even fitness taken too far can be harmful; you have to know your own limits. You lift too much weight, decide to wear yourself out every single day, stay in the gym for too long, whatever it may be. Keep this up, and you'll end up dealing more damage than being more fit.
The habits of mine that I find annoying are a part of my daily choices and lifestyle. The first is choosing to eat junk food every now and then, which I know will maybe, later on, add a tad bit of weight and make me feel like shit. The second is choosing to sleep late. I do have to stay up late sometimes, but not always. So, even if I have the chance to get some extra sleep, I still choose to stay up a bit longer. Thinking to myself, "no point in going to bed early. You'll sleep late or end up using your phone anyways". Soon enough, these small "once in a while" choices lead to becoming a solidified habit. Sometimes getting to a point where it starts dealing damage to our bodies and lives.
What I'm trying to say is, good or bad habits, whatever it may be, we need both. The good more than the bad, that's for sure. I know I'm making some "bad choices" here and there, but I also know that I surely am the one in control here. Yes, sometimes things don't end up as planned and end up dealing a bit more damage than what I had in mind. Yet, I'm always READY to step back and make amends ASAP. You gotta live a little, right? Just cover your ears and keep walking. You can't always pretend to be Mr. Perfect. I sure as hell can't.
So, I'll surely be keeping these minor "bad habits" of mine. I don't have any plans on changing or getting rid of them, not any time soon at least. However, I do plan on keeping my eyes open, conscious, always the one in charge. Balance is what I'm looking for, stability between the good and bad. So-called "perfection" can wait; as long as you're making progress in life, that's all that really matters.
Sometimes you just gotta…
"think a little less, live a little more" - anonymous.
Bad habits, some of them can be identified by ourselves within us, and some stay ignorant in our eyes. Some people, on the other hand, can sense it. The second one is kinda worse, not to see our own bad habits as bad which can affect other people. Well, if I start to talk about the existing ones that I discovered within myself, I'm gonna point out my daily life, starting and ending one on top of each other. Yeah, I am talking about my untimely sleeping cycle; most of us may point out this particular one as the worst one.
Is this truly a very bad one to have? Well, there was a time when it wasn't bad for me. I used to bring out the best possible outcome, like studying, assignments, watching movies, or late-night conversations that used to mean the world to me. At that moment, it wasn't a bad habit, but now it is. Even though I am not really bothered by it. I had happily accepted this bad habit of mine years ago. Like this one, I think I have many other bad ones that aren't so bad to me now, but may turn out to be worse in the coming days.
But things do change, even our perspectives and preferences. We learn to calculate our profits and losses better as time passes. The hours of pleasure has now turned out to be worse. I've found the horrors hidden within it.
But I figured out the best possible replacement from this, and now I wanna run away. We run away from them, claiming them as bad habits now which were once too much adorable. Aren't we amazing? Yeah, we are.
Bad habits can't be eliminated so easily. But they are replaceable, we just need to find an alternative to them, preferably a better one. Then we just need to start building that better one up while pushing away the bad one. That's how we can escape from this.
There's a saying, 8"It takes 21 days to eliminate or build a new habit."* From my experience, I can confirm that it works, if not entirely. To me, emotions are also a form of habit. Whether it be a particular emotion or a specific habit, I have got quite a good outcome through this. So whenever you feel stuck with your newly discovered bad habits, start replacing them with good ones.
Humans have habits that can take various forms and shapes. Now, which one is good or bad, that entirely depends on ones' perspective. One's declared terrific habit can become someone else's nightmare. So, it kind of depends on ourselves on what habits we rule out as the bad ones. But surely, we all have some habits rooted deeply within us, which can either be bad for us or bad to us.
If I solely reflect on myself, then it's kinda hard to distinguish these into the ever so familiar good and bad categories. To me, most of them are just habits that I happen to be bound to in a rather unpleasant or pleasant way. But let's look into it from a general perspective, and maybe that will clear out the ambiguity of the situation.
One of my bad habits can be staying up late, sleepless nights, or, more simply put, being a night owl. I can't remember for how long or at what point in life this habit got its first debut, but slowly but surely, it became a constant thing. Does it bring in a number of health hazards? Yes. Am I willing to get rid of this? Well, now that's gonna be tough as something I have no proper control over.
The next bad habit will be forgetting to reply to a text. This habit is an unpleasant one, and for the most part, did nothing but damage my social image. I've lost a handful of people in my life because of this tragic habit.
The thing is, I have a forgetful mind and most of the time, the texts come in notification form, I see it, I read it, my mind produces a reply for it, but when it comes down to actually sending the text, half of the time, I just forget to do it.
Okay, what's next… I don't eat any vegetables? Is this a bad habit? Well, for most, it is, at least according to google and my mum. I just don't like the taste, and no matter how hard I try, those things can't be put in the delicious category. Another one has to be, forgetting peoples' names. This habit is by far the most annoying and damaging one. I don't know why or how I got stuck with it, but this undoubtedly helps to create complicated situations. Just the other day, one of my office colleagues asked me who my supervisor was. She needed him to sign some reports, and I, like a complete idiot, in the name of all holy things on earth and beyond, couldn't remember his name. Because of this, I tend to give out nicknames to the people I am close to. Much easier to deal with the naming situation.
Well, I can't think of anything else, that doesn't mean I don't have tons of bad habits, at least in my mum's eyes I have at least millions, but like I said, to me those are just habits, with a combination of pleasant and unpleasant outcomes. I never think of these as good or bad, and maybe this is why they are so hard to distinguish. At the end of the day, habits are just… Habits, one of many basic characteristics of humans. We just can't live with it, or without it.
Lately, I've been listening to a song called "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran a lot. So when being asked to drop a topic for this week's Turni, this name sort of spilt out from my lips without any second consideration. As to what I interpreted, the song talks about a person singing about their bad habits and how they let them take control whenever they kick in.
I can more or less agree with this. Because I really don't have much control over all the bad habits I harbour as well. They come and go as they please, and I let them because, well, why not?
The thing is, these bad habits of ours, they sure are some manipulative little shits. I, myself, have found to be lured in by them countless times, every time swearing that this will be the last time I do this, even though I know clearly I'll get back to it the next time it rolls over.
But at the end of the day, I do wonder what can really be considered as good or bad habits. Because the line between good and bad is a very obscure one, as there is nothing that is entirely good or bad in this world. So it can easily be said that whatever habits we all have in our lives, they all have both good and bad sides to them.
Take sleeping late, for example. It's terrible for health, it keeps the body tired, it makes you feel irritated. But then again, late nights are the best time to write, have meaningful conversations. Late nights create wonderful memories, and I know that none of us can deny how amazing late nights are.
We also have habits that are, as a whole, considered bad, such as smoking, drinking, overeating etc. But if you try to see it from the point of view of the harborer of these habits, you will see them pointing out one or two reasons as to why they keep going back to these.
Humans do nothing without having some sort of rationale behind them. Even a druggie uses hard drugs as a means for escape. I'm not saying that these habits are good or should be considered as good. I'm just saying that even these bad habits have their uses on the person who harbours them.
Humans are complex beings. We do things, sometimes terrible, sometimes amazing, for our own mental pleasure. We stay up all night, sleep early, eat junk food, or keep a healthy lifestyle. We do these, or start to all these things for various personal reasons. It's just the repetition of efforts and the passing of times that makes our actions turn into habits.
And as it is known that forbidden fruit tastes the best, it's the bad habits of ours that truly sticks.
Thus, our cycle continues, and we go round and round on it, thinking this will be the last time, even though we know it won't.
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