We are our habits.
One of the songs I most listened to in my adolescence had as its chorus the cry “What we do speaks much more than just talking!”
My wife is a witness to how many times, after I debate a controversial topic, I talk to her and ask her: “never let me be a lie.”
We’ve all heard the word Pharisee or hypocrite — people who practice the infamous “do as I say, not as I do.” I have as a goal in my life to be Truth. Whether in my mistakes or successes, I want whoever knows me to see consistency and truth when comparing my speech and my actions.
With this goal in mind, I try to keep myself in constant change through my habits. Food, time online, dedication to family, evolution at work, reading, behavior in traffic, etc.
My experience has taught me that there is no better way to change a habit than the help of close friends. That’s why whenever I plan to change something, I make a point of announcing it to my close friends. If I’m going to stop biting my nails, I tell them my nails will get long; if I’m going to stop swearing, I warn my work partners; if I’m going to eat healthier, I tell my wife.
The second most important thing is discipline. If I’m going to eat healthier, I don’t buy what I’m not going to eat. Which, in moments of desperation, leaves me with two options: starve or devour that cereal bar.
The same applies to other things: Want to stress less in traffic? Offer a 5-real prize for each person who “catches” you stressing for “free” while driving. Withdraw 50 reais in 5-real bills and keep them in your wallet. (I’m starting this today with my wife, only I’m going to “pay” a fine for using my phone for trivialities that take me away from what really matters — be it friends, a lunch, or a sunset I’m trading for my Facebook feed.)
Another thing I’m doing is for my health. I had tendinitis a year ago when I was running a startup and was working beyond my limit. The problem is that, once you’ve forced your body to this point, it becomes more sensitive to relapses in the future. Which happened again this week. So I went looking for healthier ways to type (I spend 12, 14 hours a day typing), and in this search I found the Kinesis.
The Kinesis is a keyboard with a new layout. The keys are separated into two distant blocks with depth alignment to prevent you from bending your arms to type. Excellent. Except for the fact that I’ve been using Apple keyboards for 5 years, which made me, on the first day, drop from a speed of 70 words per minute to 11!!! (This post for example has already taken more than 30 minutes to be written, and if you notice, several paragraphs ago I gave up on accents =P)
I hope my health improves, and I promise to update this post with my review of this keyboard in a few weeks.
And you, I’d like to invite you to take one or two “goals” you set for the year and divide them into habits. This will help you practice, and when you least notice, you will have reached the goal.
May we be the change we want to see in the world. What we do speaks much more than just talking.