Creatures of Habit

“We are, all of us, creatures of habit, and when the seeming necessity for schooling ourselves in new ways ceases to exist, we fall naturally and easily into the manner and customs which long usage has implanted ineradicably within us.” ~ Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Beasts of Tarzan

We all have our own little idiosyncrasies; harmless things that we started doing at one time or another and have become a part of who we are. Most of the time we do them without even being aware of it.

What we seem to be oblivious to, others will notice and may find endearing, or perhaps it will drive them crazy. We all have family members or friends that have some interesting habits. It could be certain words or sayings they use that sound strange to us, or facial expressions that make us think “what is that?”

Some have compulsive habits that others may find quirky. It can be as simple as the need to do things in a certain order each time we do them, or a bit more eccentric like touching a door handle 3 times before opening it, storing clothes and hangers facing one direction, or counting steps when we walk. Extreme compulsive behaviors can include gambling, eating, or hoarding.

When living together, the habits we have may be in direct conflict with those of our partner. At times it can be comical when our habits work against one another. In our home he will push the area rug and coffee table up close to the sofa, making it look like everything is on one side of the room (like he is creating his own little cave). When he is not around I will go and pull it back away from the sofa, and rearrange things so they are more evenly spaced out. This tug of war goes on almost daily and neither one of us says a word.

Most of our habits are innocuous, and may go unnoticed. We have had them for so long that those who know us best don’t even recognize when we are in the midst of one of our quirky behaviors. However, I’m sure there are times that a total stranger watching us may be puzzled, or even amused, by what they observe. I know that there have been times that a smile has crossed my face as I watch people go about their daily lives.

As the old saying goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Although we do learn many new things throughout our lifetime, our sometimes odd or endearing habits are embedded into who we are. It is best to embrace them all, for these are the things that make up our unique character.