When the going gets tough – when you’re stressed, busy, tired, sick, or otherwise preoccupied – you lean on familiar habits.
That’s why I eat poorly when it’s the week of the musical – those familiar habits were built long ago.
It’s because we don’t have to think – the habits are, well habitual. We can do them automatically. And it’s because those habits are comforting – doing something that we’ve done many times before can calm us down, like wrapping up in a weighted blanket.
It’s why I spend so much of my time trying to establish habits for my work. Writing time, down time, practice time. The more I schedule them, the more they will remain intact regardless of how busy I get. It’s why I habituate little slogans for my students and my family – so we can all reinforce the ways of thinking that we want to have when we are leaning on what’s familiar.