From habit to skill

Changing our life is all about changing our habits. I want to be a writer, so I am choosing to write something (anything, no matter how short or trivial) before I get out of bed every morning. I am creating the habit of writing.

For the moment, it still feels unnatural; difficult. It is a bit like swimming against the tide, a struggle against inertia. And that is exactly what is going on. I am not walking a well worn path of least resistance (my existing habit of jumping out of bed and rushing headlong into the day). Instead, I am forging a new path, having to hack a clear way through the jungle of resistance. I am literally breaking new ground.

And if I repeatedly walk this new trail, it will become easier, more natural, a habit. If I go back to my old ways, the path will grow over again and becoming a writer will continue to be an uphill struggle. But with each word I write, I take another step along the path to being a habitual writer.

Intent is important – the desire to walk a different road, to blaze an unfamiliar trail. But just as important is action – taking first one step, then one after another in the direction of our intent. And the combination of these two – intention and action – begins to rewire the brain, to change our behaviour and set us along a different path.

Make no mistake, changing habits is hard. But it is also incredibly empowering. And of course, it gets easier as you go. Persistence pays.

So what habits do I need to change in order to become the person I want to be? To live the life I want to live? To do the work I want to do? Which habits are helping and which are hindering? Can I be clear on my intent (who I want to be; where I want to go; what I want to do) and reinforce this with action? Is this the way in which the micro (quantum) and macro worlds conspire to create change? Is this what choosing our destiny and becoming conscious creators really means?

All I know is that the act of writing these words, aligned to my intent to become a writer, feels empowering. As the song goes, ‘after all, it’s a step in the right direction’.

I wonder – when does a habit become a skill? When someone is a skilful pianist, that is at least in part due to them having acquired the habit of playing after hours and hours of practice. The fact that playing ‘comes naturally’ to them now, or that they ‘play without thinking’ simply means that the path of piano playing is well trod; hence, the basic actions become unconscious or semi-conscious.

But perhaps skill goes further than habit. Perhaps habituation provides the building blocks with which we can apply our creativity; it frees our mind up to play, to add a touch of flair or gloss. Perhaps habits allow us to focus on the edges – the incremental improvements, the emotional subtleties and the creative possibilities. Paradoxically, by making our actions unconscious, habits allow us to be superconscious.