The path to Tranquility (summer)
74. Replace habits with consciousness
In life, we develop various habits. Whether it is diet, exercise, work and rest, or doing things, thinking, etc., habits always affect us unconsciously, and sometimes even put us into physical or psychological difficulties. From the perspective of general concepts and behaviors, we are not alert enough to the dangers of habits. Therefore, it is necessary for us to conduct an in-depth analysis of habits and initiate a process of replacing them with consciousness.
Let’s look at instinct first, which is an inherited habit. For example, some animals have the instinct to cover up their feces to reduce the risk of being stalked by predators. But even on concrete floors, they will habitually make movements to cover their feces without knowing that they have not actually completed the task. It can be seen that animals' unconsciousness sometimes causes their instinctive habits to fail, putting them in danger.
In addition to instinct, our other habits are formed through repeated experience of things. Some habits are less harmful, such as food preferences. But some can harm our health, such as smoking or drinking alcohol. These all reflect the potential dangers that habits bring to life. Moreover, when habits become part of our identity, we tend to ignore the feelings of others because we stick to our own habits, which can have a negative impact on relationships.
It can be said that habits are the biggest obstacle in relationships. Habits are like a wall, creating barriers between people and making it difficult to get close to each other. For example, if two people from different areas form a family and each insists on their previous living habits, their relationship will not be close, and they may even be separated by conflicts.
Habits also have some uses. Habits allow our bodies to continue functioning when our conscious minds are unable to respond in time. For example, when we encounter a sudden critical situation and are about to fall, we will habitually support the ground with our hands to give our head a chance to avoid injury. However, when we need to actively simulate falling, if we cannot overcome this habit and continue to support the ground with our hands, then we will not be able to complete the task. Most of the time, critical situations don't happen, so this example highlights the importance of developing consciousness and breaking out of habits. The more consciousness we have, the better we can avoid danger.
There is a fundamental difference between habit and consciousness. A habit is a set of fixed memories and routines. Therefore, if we act according to our habits, we become as rut-like as machines. And consciousness is flexible perception and prediction. When we act consciously, we fully consider our situation and adjust our goals or methods.
For example, when we brush our teeth according to habit without thinking, sometimes we brush not cleanly, and sometimes we brush too hard, causing damage to the teeth. This inertial way of brushing our teeth can also make us forget whether we have brushed our teeth, resulting in brushing too many times. But if we consider the condition of our mouth every time we brush our teeth, how to brush more cleanly and moderately, we will improve the method of brushing our teeth, or choose better appliances to make our teeth healthier.
It can be seen that habits are obstacles to the growth of consciousness. Every time we develop a habit in life, it means that our consciousness in some aspects stops growing, and the risks also increase. For example, eating as planned or exercising are both considered healthy practices. However, once this practice becomes a habit, it may also cause us to ignore physical aging or environmental changes, fail to adjust our diet or exercise plans in time, and increase health risks. On the contrary, if every action in life is arranged by consciousness rather than driven by habits, we can constantly review our choices and behaviors and adjust them according to the current situation. In this way, our health will be fully protected.
In general, many of the difficulties in life are caused by sticking to habits. Therefore, we should focus on the cultivation of consciousness rather than the formation of habits. Even for small things in life, we should decide whether and how to act based on actual needs, rather than acting according to habits. As long as we replace habits with consciousness, many difficulties will be overcome and life will become smoother.
Since habits have many harmful effects and consciousness is more advanced, we should replace habits with consciousness. This requires setting some specific, measurable, and time-bound goals so that we can track our progress. For example, we can make it a goal to get rid of the habit of staying up late and record the sleep time every day for a month. If we can achieve our goals, we can check whether our physical and mental state is better than staying up late. When we find ourselves benefiting from a change, we feel happy and go to bed earlier in the future, thus breaking the habit of staying up late.
It is worth emphasizing that we should not set material rewards for progress, nor should we look for substitutes for habits. Because this will create new habits, defeat the original intention of replacing habits with consciousness, and will not help cultivate consciousness. So in the example above, we shouldn’t reward ourselves with dessert the morning after going to bed early because this will create a new habit of eating dessert.
It is not easy to replace habits with consciousness because we always classify habits into good habits and bad habits. However, we can look at habits through the lens of freedom and start by breaking the habit of seeing things in terms of good and bad. What we need most is freedom, but the more we rely on habits, the less freedom we have. Therefore, no matter what kind of habit it is, as long as it restricts our freedom, it is harmful. The most profound harm is that habits hinder the formation of consciousness and indirectly accelerate the degeneration of the brain. Only by recognizing its harmful effects on life can we replace habits with consciousness.
Replacing habits with consciousness means we are more aware of our own motivations. By clearly understanding the purpose and method of each action, fully predicting the possible results, and summarizing and reflecting afterwards, we can act more consciously. For example, when speaking, we need to know the reason and goal of speaking, arrange our words and tone, and strive to make it easier for others to understand. We also need to observe the reactions of others so that we can improve our ability to speak.
Although acting consciously requires more time and effort, it reduces the chance of error. When we replace habits with consciousness, there is an opportunity for growth in every moment of our lives. We can transform relationships into a fusion of consciousness, no longer about instinctive desires or social conventions. This will bring us more novelty and also have great benefits in delaying brain decline.
We must first get rid of those habits that damage relationships, such as unkindness, being emotional, etc., so that the relationship can develop in a good direction. Even two people who grew up in completely different cultures can live together as long as they are willing to let go of their own habits. Love is a consciousness, not a lifestyle habit. So if we go a step further and replace habits with consciousness, we can love each other.
The most important thing is that in the process of replacing habits, we realize that our true self is consciousness, not habits. Only by living consciously can we feel our true existence and protect our lives to the maximum extent. Therefore, no matter what difficulties we encounter, replacing habits with consciousness is a direction worth our efforts.
Replacing habits with consciousness allows us to better control our lives. Life is like a car and consciousness is like the driver. If we just follow our own instincts and habits in life, we will not be able to control the trajectory of life, and we will encounter setbacks and even cause accidents. Consciousness is the ability to control life and must be improved through continuous application. Therefore, for health and longevity, for true freedom and growth, we must replace habits with consciousness.
73. Insight into the truth of the things
75. Love is the action that creates happiness
