No, this is not encouraging you to acquire a collection like Imelda Marcos (and this is not my shoe rack either but a random pic from bilderkiste.de), neither is this post actually about shoes but rather about habits. Let me explain ...
Today is the last day of the summer holidays here, surprising how six weeks just passed. It's back to school tomorrow and a new school for my youngest daughter too.
I was chatting to my good friend in New Zealand this morning (or evening for her). In retrospect those five weeks I spent at her house on the beautiful south island seem a lot longer. No, this post is not about time distortion either, don't let me get sidetracked, I was talking about habits.
Anyhow, during our chat (on a popular social website) we got onto the subject of how to change old habits, behaviours which no longer serve us well (maybe some of them never did!) and the danger of repeating the same thing over and over again, maybe in slight variations. I mentioned the analogy of how the old habits are the well-trodden, wide paths in our neurology while the new ones are still fresh, difficult maybe, find your path first in babysteps (and if you don't use it, it's so easily overgrown again). I asssured her that YES, the new ones become wider too with repeated use. (Ok, I didn't say ALL that in our chat, you readers get the slightly longer version ;)
So how do we get to shoes? Well, I cannot take credit for the neurological pathway analogy - I don't know whose idea it was first, whoever it was: It's a great one, I like it! Thank you!
Later while drying my hair (Why do we keep coming up with the best ideas when we're not actually thinking about it but doing something entirely different? Maybe that is the topic of another blog entry.) it occured to me that old habits are also a lot like a pair of old comfy shoes. We have had them for a long time, they have served us well, taken us to many different places and they are just oh so comfortable to just slip on. It's a no-brainer really, we slip them on without thinking about it, purely out of habit and comfort.
However (and there tends to be a "however" quite often with these things) they might no longer be good for us. They might not be only well-worn, but actually worn out. They might be oh so comfortable, molded to our feet but on the brink of falling apart with the soles being worn off (maybe more to one side) so that continuing to wear and use them is actually bad for us and our posture and in the end bad for our health.
Now new shoes can be tempting. They are shiny, maybe fashionable, possibly highly trendy. How many different pairs of newish and hardly worn shoes have you got? Why aren't you wearing those and not the old comfy ones? (Ok, you might not. You might be a reader who threw the old ones away. Good for you!) Well, most new shoes need a bit of wearing in - just like the neurological pathways, just like new habits ... and some simply don't fit. You might not have noticed in the shoe shop but find out later that they simply "aren't for you", they are continuously uncomfortable no matter what you try and they make your feet hurt. Well, then get rid of them, give them to charity or whatever and find the "right" pair ... and take the time to wear them in.
Find what suits you, go through the trouble of making it yours, incorporate it into your life and ... also be aware that this, however wonderful it is and however well it serves you right now, it might not last forever, might be outmoded at some point in the future. And it will be time for new shoes again ...
Stepping off my box now. Have a great week!
Hugs,
Mel
