So Eas'ly Called Away

Admiral Halsey

I was reading an article the other day about healthy lifestyle choices. It talked about the need to establish healthy habits. Of particular interest to me was the contention that it takes 30 to 60 days to form a habit.

That's not my experience.

I do realize that everyone is different. My wife can form a habit in 30 to 60 seconds, although she must want to. If she doesn't want to, there is no force on earth that can compel her to do anything. It is a trait of women in her lineage, and it has been passed on to her daughter and to her grand daughter. I call it pigheadedness, but what it means is that when they decided to do something, it quickly becomes second nature and immutable. If what they decided is a good thing, this is good; if not, oh well.

My grand daughter, for example, established early and easily the habit of showering. Some kids you have to keep after, and it's always a struggle to keep them clean. Lillian however never needs to be reminded, and she always keeps herself clean and sweet smelling. The same attention to hygiene does not extend to toothbrushing. The gene for toothbrushing is either missing or inactive in her. You can say 'brush your teeth, please," and she will stand and blink at you as if you've spoken in a foreign language.

I mention this because I do not form habits easily. I have spent the entire past year trying to establish some spiritual disciplines. What that means is that I have been trying to establish a regular (habitual) prayer routine and trying to alter some non-productive (habits) behaviors. After one year, I thought I was making progress, but the past two weeks have been horrible. I have settled back into the behavioral ruts that I was in before I started. I would have thought that a year would be enough time to permanently change behavior you wanted to change.

At Toyota, they say you must do something a thousand times in order to become proficient. Of course in an assembly operation where you may do something 300 or more times a day, you could form habits quickly if not easily. But how long should it take to establish a daily prayer habit? Thirty days? A thousand?

I am reminded of the lyrics from Paul McCartney's Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey:

"We're so sorry, Uncle Albert,
But we haven't done a bloody thing all day.
We're so sorry, Uncle Albert,
But the kettle's on the boil
And we're so eas'ly called away."

So, starting tomorrow, I need to start over. I need to ask myself why it is that I am so eas'ly called away. I need to pick myself up and get after it.