We are made of "habits"

Hello.

May 7, 2023: Revised and updated.

Just a tiny, little habit.

• Always eating rice in the morning

• Doing housework or shopping after breakfast

• Watching a TV drama for an hour in the afternoon to relax

• Driving children to their lessons or preparing dinner in the evening

Up to this point, these arehabits of action.

• Always getting irritated when there is a slow car in front while driving

• Feeling annoyed at colleagues who are slow to reply to emails while at work

• Going to a convenience store to buy sweets, but feeling disappointed because the sweets I wanted are not sold there
  

Beyond our actions,our thoughts and emotions are also made of habits.

What kind of reactions are you having?

Realizing that we are made of habits.

That is the first step.

And then,turn that realization into action.

Change negative reactions into positive ones.

Try to think in a good direction instead of always thinking in a bad one.

When driving a car, even if there is a slow car in front of you,
“If I had been driving impatiently, I might have had an accident...”

Even if an email reply is late,
think, "The other person is busy, so it can't be helped."

Behind thoughts of unease and irritation,
there also exists the opposite, calm and reassuring thought,
and our brains have a habit of thinking in a bad (negative) direction.

Just "noticing" that is enough.

If you develop the habit of finding good things,
you will find it easier to feel happy.

Notice that "habit."

People think "habits" are routines,
and it is easy to mistake them for "living a regular life,"
but that is not necessarily the case.

Waking up at different times in the morning,
or having different sleep durations depending on the day,
are bad habits because they disrupt your body's rhythm,
but "being regular" and "habits" are different things.

Your body will surely tell you this.

If your sleep times are inconsistent, your body will surely tell you.

Always eating rice in the morning.
This is fine too, but are you doing it because of outside information (media, etc.),
or does your body really want it?
Ask your body carefully.

If you are someone who takes a long time to digest, eating rice in the morning
can leave you with stomach discomfort and sometimes lower your motivation in the morning.

In such cases, reduce the amount of rice,
do some light exercise to promote digestion,
or try changing the rice to bread.

The body knows everything better than the mind.

Even if we analyze things this way and that with our thoughts,
the body knows far more about many things.

The body's reaction when you get irritated,
the body's reaction when you fight with someone you are close to,
the body's reaction when you receive a surprise gift...

Emotions immediately appear in the body as symptoms.

Observe such trivial bodily reactions.

Observe how you feel right now.

"Thoughts" appear unexpectedly
when you are not observing them.

If your mind is buzzing with thoughts all day long,
try "observing" your inner self for even just one minute.

This is called"mindfulness".

When your mind is buzzing with thoughts,
it is called "mindless (mind-wandering)."

Physical ailments might also appear during such times (mindless states).

May you have another day filled with "love" today.