A few days ago, my male cats (Bo and Svenn) were helping my in the yard. The disaterous ice storm here in Kentucky did a real number on trees, and since we have a virtual forest in our yard, we had limbs and branches down like you wouldn’t believe. It honestly looked as though a tornado had torn through.
My husband was out of town and I thought he’d be glad to see a lot of the work done when he came back. My boys followed me every step of the way. They were delighted with the entertainment and I loved the company – even though I was totally aware that I was their matinee.
They watched as I dragged most of the heavy limbs and carried the ones that could be carried. Some were so heavy they had to stay right where they were. The rabbits under one of them appreciated it greatly. My brave, tough boys just peeked through the branches at the rabbits and turned away. Fortunately for the rabbits (and for me who would have tried to stop it), my one cat who would have sent fur flying is now a house cat.
It wasn’t long before I realized that, although the large limbs had to be dragged a great distance and taxed what few muscles I own, the small branches were much more of a headache. They required frequent bending over as I gathered them up and it seemed as though I never gained on them! They were great nuisances, in spite of their innocent appearance.
It occurs to me that many of our habits are like these sticks. Many of the negative traits or habits that hold us back are usually the small ones. These “stick habits” add up and can cause some serious damage in our lives.
What are some of these habits or traits?
- Temper
- Being judgmental
- Being too hard to please
- Laziness
- Being sloppy
- Selfishness
It seems to me that when we have large habits, we often find a way to “muscle up” and control them. We KNOW they’re there, they’re too big to miss! Some of these include smoking, overeating, not controlling your weight, spending too much money (shhhh), lying, etc. These big bama jammas are so in your face that we couldn’t ignore them for long if we tried (and most of us do indeed try!). All the while we’re looking at these larger ones, the smaller habits just keep lying there, causing a perfect mess.
That’s how it was when I was cleaning the front yard. I hauled limb after limb after limb – then on one of my last trips back to the front of the house, I noticed that there were only a couple of large limbs left. My mind started to celebrate by mapping out the rest of the afternoon’s schedule – warm shower, chili for lunch, a pot of coffee, a Sanford and Son episode, perhaps a second warm shower (what can I say, I was freezing). Then when I pulled away a few of the big dudes, I noticed what had to be a gazillion sticks and branches. Fred and Lamont were going to have to wait.
Our “Stick Habits” Keep Us.
- They keep our relationships from being as close as they could be.
- They keep us from moving up the ladder at work.
- They keep us from having the things we want.
- They keep us from making the world a better place.
- They keep us from being as happy as we could be.
- They keep peace and contentment at arm’s reach.
Take a good close look at your negative habits. Not the big ones (at least not this time!), lean in close and observe the small ones.
Do you expect too much from others? Are you judgmental and critical of other people and situations? Do you get angry more than 3 times a day? Do you spend most of your time thinking about the world around you or yourself? Do you honestly try to make other people happy or do you expect them to make you happy? What’s the last totally selfless thing you did for someone else? Are you honest? Do you tend to overreact to situations, causing them to grow larger than they should actually be? Are you quick to label people based upon their sex, race, social position, or car they drive?
Once the stick habits are there in plain view, pick them up and throw them out of your life. Mark my words, it will make a huge and profound difference in every area of your life. Cast them away so far that you can’t even see them any more, then do everything in your power to make sure that nothing carries them back into your life. It won’t be long before people around you notice the difference as much as you do.
Things that were so wrong will suddenly be so right.
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