Habits

When most people hear the word “Habit” they automatically think of BAD habits. But the truth is we all have habits and we all need habits in order to function.  A habit is described as an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. By this definition we all have habits that we don’t even realize we have. The key is to nurture the good and change the bad.

I myself have habits that I know I need to work on.  For me personally the habit is stretching before a workout.  As much I as I know the importance of stretching I am always so excited to start dancing or working out that I tend to skip that part.  It was when I was in New York taking dance classes that I was reminded.  When looking at the dance class schedule my friend and I noticed that the classes were 1 ½ hours long.  We figured that was an odd time for a dance class but then quickly forgot about it as we got more excited about the class.

We were very excited and nervous waiting for the class to start especially after seeing all the wonderful dancers in the class before ours.  Upon entering our class we quickly claimed our spots and the music began.  We not only stretched but did a full-out warm up consisting or crunches, push ups (one class even made us do one arm push ups), and jumping jacks.  For every class we took we did this for the first 30 minutes of the class.  Along the way they would explain why this stretch was important or which muscles you were stretching out, and what you can achieve if you continue to work on this muscle group.  This was great and once again reminded me why it is so important to build and nurture this habit.  It was inspiring to see that even the best take that part serious.

So my lessons learned that I pass on to you are:

1)    Not all habits are bad, so don’t be scared.

2)    Nurture the good ones and change the bad ones.

3)    What ever your passion is you must build the habits needed to be successful with it.  If you take dancing seriously then you must take all steps to protect and improve your body.