Self-negotiation

Chapter 299

The purpose of a habit is to remove that action from self-negotiation. You no longer expend energy deciding whether to do it. You just do it. Good habits can range from telling the truth to flossing.  Kevin Kelly

I would say that the purpose of makingcreatingstarting a habit is to remove that action from self-negotiation. Habits in and of themselves have no purposes except those assign to them by you or me. And I could go deeper here, because I am a huge fan of habits, more and more so as I get older and see the value they bring me over time. Unfortunately I have less and less time to enjoy those benefits, but I digress.

The beauty of what Kelly wrote is the “remove from self-negotiation” part. No more arguing with yourself about whether or not you are going to do A or B, you just do it. Less decisions to be made today. You might say a habit is a decision made in the past that continues until today. But no negotiation today, its a habit and I darn well will do it. Heck I even find myself structuring my day around them there habits! (Not to be confused with hobbits). But Kelly got it right, no more self-negotiation means no energy burn, no decision fatigue, no wavering.

But there is a more subtle piece to habits that I am missing here. Are flossing and telling the truth even habits in my mind?? I am not sure. I think of working out as a habit, but then again. I guess a “habit” can be defined as any systemic practice of any action day after day. If we use this definition then flossing and the truth are in.