Slow and Steady

Posted on May 26, 2015 Updated on May 28, 2015

By Chris Seeger

A few days ago I found myself involved in an stimulating dinner conversation about my blog with a friend. (Who shall remain nameless.) My friend had been previously informed about what I’m trying to accomplish with my writing and had read a some of my posts. In the midst of our sturdy opinions and personal beliefs during our discussion, he posed a question. A question that I believed, if answered, would aid my readers along their difficult paths to improvement. A comment I made about an unhealthy habit he was struggling to cope with caused him to tilt his head sideways, giving me a sarcastic smirk. As if to say, “Not everyone can just drop all their bad habits.” Apologetically I hung my head, personally remembering how long I struggled with the same habit. After a short awkward silence he asked me, “How do I get rid of so many bad habits?” The question rang through my ears like a buzzer on a game show, I had just selected the topic for my next post. Immediately I thought the question was coincidence. For the past couple of days my thought process had been centered on ways to make it easier for those with many unhealthy habits to quit. Though, like I have fore-mentioned, the road to improvement is difficult, and slow. I had basically zoned myself out of the conversation at that point while I pondered his simple question. Yet, at that dinner, another seemingly coincidental chain of events casually provided a solution for me. Our waitress took our plates and returned with our check. Essentially, the check was a list of items my friend and I had purchased. It hit me like a freight train. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? I looked at my friend who was in the process of signing his check and said, “Make a list.” He looked up inquisitively and said, “What are you talking about?” I pointed to the check and remarked, “Make a list. A list of all your bad habits off the top of your head.” His face began to show signs of discernment as he caught on to my idea. “Once you have a list of all your bad habits pick one. Only one, and cross it off.” He understood the entirety of my idea now. Smiling he gave me a hug and we went our separate ways; both feeling fulfilled.

Slow and steady wins the race. That dinner challenged me with a problem and inspired me to seek a method to solve that problem. Everyone has at least a few bad habits that need shaving down. Make your list. Pick one thing on that list and make a decision to quit that negative influence in your life. Once you are ready, and have quit the first thing you crossed off, move on to the next thing on the list. Just creating a list is only part of the answer. Hang your list on the fridge, your desk at work or on your car’s dashboard. Hang it someplace visible to you every day as a reminder of your change. Those who honestly have the desire to commit can make a difference in their life with this method. Committing and following through is the key. Continue crossing off your bad habits slow and steady and you will improve your quality of life.