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We're
Creatures of Habit
WHY?
by
Oonald D. Schroeder
Our new readers will be surprised at how
much of what we do, think and feel is a matter of habit.
W
THOUT
habits we
could not func–
tion- or
per~aps
even
su rvtv e.
That's the good side of habits.
Habits allow us to perform an
astronomical number of actions
without s ignificant conscious
thought, effort or undue atten–
tion- like tying our shoes, but–
toning a shirt, riding a bike,
walking, running, typing, re–
membering a telephone number,
even responding to danger.
What a Habit l s
A habit is a learned pat-
tern of acting or thinking
or feeling.
It
is not a pat–
tern we were born with,
as many lower creature
responses are.
Don ' t confuse these
learned patterns with in–
born or "wired-in" invol–
untary responses such as
diges ting, breatbing,
sweating or shivering at
cold. Developing habits,
particularly if tbey are
good habits, allows us to
conserve higher men tal
processes for more de–
manding tasks and chal–
lenges. By contrast ,
wrong habits waste hu–
man energy and limit
human growth and devel–
opment.
October 1983
"Habits are at first cobwebs,
then cables," says a Spanish prov–
erb.
A habit starts to form when we
respond to something- physically,
mentally or emotionally- several
times. How many responses are
required to start a habit may vary
from person to person or with dif–
ferent kinds of stimuli .
But as we respond, a pattern
starts to occur, neural circuits and
pathways in the marvelous human
brain and nervou s sys tem are
formed. Precisely what happens in
the human mind and body is even
now beyond the mind of man to
fully understand.
Learning patterns, at first , go
into the brain's short-term memory
system. As they become more
established they move over into the
brain's long-term storage center.
This much is perceived by those
scientists who have studied the sub–
ject of habits.
Then the brain activity at which
humans excel-memory-goes to
work so that a specific message or
stimulus triggers an automatic
response, thought or feeling. We
call a lesson that the brain's cells
have learned well enough
to accomplish automati–
cally, without thought , a
habit.
Good habits and bad
habits are formed essen–
tially the same way.
Therefore it is critically
important for parents to
see that children establish
good habits particularly
in early years of life.
Habits are difficult to
unlearn. The brain ap–
parently never totally
"forgets" bad habi ts,
al though they may
drop out of dominance
in one's life through
lack of use, or if
replaced by another,
it is hoped , better
habit.
So-called free spirits
and individualists
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