Latest gomepost
- -Stream of consciousness cram
- - -I’m pressed for time today so I’m just going to free write
+ +Pleasant little habits
+ + +I’m pondering adding more to my life
Pleasant little habits
+ ++ I bought a new car a few months ago, and I grew fond of it fairly quickly. + It’s one of those things I’ll end up using a lot, so I like the idea of making it feel more meaningful and personal to me. + I named it Hopper because when I first got it, I often noticed grasshoppers hanging out on its exterior. +
+ One thing I like to have available in the car when I go places is hand sanitizer. + I got in the habit of using it when I would go anywhere during the pandemic. + So I got one of those little bottles with a nice smell. + That way I could build up a pleasant smell memory when I got into the car. +
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+ + At some point, I got a tin of wintergreen mints. + Eventually I developed a habit where any time I got in the car after being out somewhere, I would apply the hand sanitizer and have a mint. + It turned out to be a great way of making my car a comfortable place for me. + The sensory familiarity was kind of a little reset for my mood. +
+ People sometimes refer to these kinds of habits as “rituals”, but to me, that term places too much weight on them. + I considered calling them “ritules”, as in little rituals, but I thought that sounded a little dumb and was still a lot like “rituals”. + Also, if I did that, people would see the title and think I just misspelled “rituals”. +
+ Anyway, I think habits like this seem useful and nice to have. + You can use them to make something mundane a little more meaningful, or help shift your mindset. + I’d like to maybe add some more to my life. +
+ But I don’t know if I can just decide to do them and implement them “from the top down”, so to speak. + The mint and hand sanitizer habit just developed naturally, and I still only do it when I feel like doing it. + It seems like when it comes to developing meaningful and pleasant small habits, it’s a better idea to just try some things that seem nice and see what sticks. +
+ Do you have any pleasant little habits or rituals?
+ Did you start them “top-down”, or did they develop naturally?
+ Have you named your car (or bike, jacket, house, computer, etc.)?
+ Let me know your thoughts at my Ctrl-C email: gome @ ctrl-c.club.
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