Breaking Bad Habits

"A good deal of education consists of unlearning - the breaking of bad habits as with a tennis serve." - Mary McCarthy, novelist

Unlearning - now that's a term I recognize. Over the past ten to fifteen years I've had to break many bad habits and unlearn a lot. It seems to be a never-ending job!

There's a good side to breaking bad habits. I've become a different person as a result of unlearning much of what I thought I learned growing up. I phrase it this way because I've recognized that much of what I was taught got lost in the translation of my perception. What I perceived to be happening and what was actually happening were sometimes two very different things. It took me a long time to realize that.

These days I must admit that my "serve" is much better than ever before. I've been blessed - God has put some wonderful people in my life to show me the right way to live. They've shown me how to do the next right thing no matter what the circumstances. I've learned to put my wants and needs aside and focus on what I can do for others instead. I don't always do this perfectly, but I definitely do much better than I used to do and I'm getting better every day. As my friend Robin always says, thank you God, thank you God, thank you God!