Habits govern our lives more than we acknowledge. A research study published in 2006 found that more than 40% of our daily actions are not decisions at all but habits. It's easy to fall into thoughtless routines and travel the same cow path through the day, throughout our lives even.
Why do we do this? Scientists say it is because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save energy and effort. It tries to make any routine into a habit as a way of ramping down. Beginning early in childhood, we develop a series of conditioned responses that lead us to react automatically and unthinkingly in most situations.
As a result, we tend to engage in the same activities, talk to the same people, eat the same foods, work on the same projects and deal with the same frustrations. Yet our habits - what we say to our kids each night, whether we save or spend, how we organize our work routines and whether we exercise - have an enormous impact on our health, productivity, financial security and happiness.
The truth is our lives don't change until we do. That happens when we move beyond dreaming, thinking, wishing and planning and start doing something about it each day.
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