Narcoleptic, Insomniac-Check!
Sep. 22. 2009
As I get older I start to realize the habits I have formed for doing a lot of tasks. For example, to-do lists. I usually can remember most the things I need to do, as I did in college, but for some reason I think I write down “tasks” just so I can scratch them off my list. In high school I knew what day the student council meeting was. Meeting-check. And in college I knew what day the final was. Study for final-check. I think I do it to partly keep me “in line,” but mainly to feel a sense of accomplishment. Work out-check, Pick up milk from store-check, Start laundry-check, advertise new listing-check. I am sure if you are like me, you know what you must get done each day and what would be nice to accomplish, (Paint the bedroom-check) I write down both of these, that way if not everything that I NEED to do gets done, at least a few other things on my list are crossed off and I feel better about my productivity that day. Eat Lunch-check.
Another habit I have had since, oh, I would say about high school-has been staying up late. Actually, this habit could date back to when I was a child and got my own TV in my room (man, did I love some late night Quantum Leap re-runs). I don’t stay up late because I am necessarily out on the town having a good time either. It is all because of this one invention called, the Internet. I got a computer in high school, yes a little late on the band wagon. I would stay up late exploring colleges, downloading songs off Napster (now you can tell how old I am) and just surfing the web and all the information and websites I felt so left out of (everyone else had computers long before I did). Here I am now, a “few” years later, with the same habits. Now, if you took the same material I was reading on the internet and printed it in a book and I laid down to read this in bed-I would be out in a split second. I guess I wouldn’t necessarily call this habit, but yet an ability-or curse, depending on how you look at it, but I can sleep through just about anything. In fact one camping trip in a small camper we had rented with friends the carbon monoxide alarm went off in the middle of the night and I was the only one who never heard it. I can also fall asleep and start dreaming in about 2.5 seconds.
Swerving off topic some, I find it interesting that changing our habits can be such a difficult task, even when we know what is good for us. I suppose you could compare this statement to dieting. Why do we know french fries and ice cream is bad, yet still want it and eat it anyway? I know staying up late only causes a cycle for me, I am more tired the next day, have a harder time getting up, and I actually think my dreams are a bit stranger (I think this is due to REM sleep and the allotted time I have sleeping isn’t in that cycle long enough). So, what do I do-like any time I want to CHANGE something about me? I write it down. I make a plan. I tell people I am going to do it. I put it into place, I do what I say. Then week 3 or 4 rolls around and I am back where I started.
Anyone every try hypnosis to break a habit and actually hear of it working?
I want to hypnotize myself to have more self discipline-is that possible? I cannot imagine waking up like everyone else. Maybe the fact I refuse to drink coffee is what hurts me, not the fact I go to sleep late. Is it because I don’t have any kids, is that why I can manage to stay up so late? Whatever it is, I hope I can actually break the habit at one point in my life.
It is now 2:20am, time for me to go to sleep, wake up grouchy, and say the following day, “I need to start getting up earlier.”
And that is all I have to say about bad habits.