Let's Choose the Life Habits That Do Us Good

Let us choose to adopt a measured way of life because it does us good. Us. Others. The environment that allows us to exist.

Moreover, the one and only "symbol of success" of a person is the fact of being happy — that is, feeling in coherence with the environment indispensable to their survival.

When we live in a measured way, we are in better health, we feel an inner coherence, we have more energy, and we are therefore happier.

All the habits that do us good and are listed in this book concern consuming fewer of the planet's resources, and thereby releasing fewer greenhouse gases.

Even when we choose to take a bicycle instead of a car to get around, the production of a bicycle required the extraction of the Earth's resources and generated greenhouse gases — but so much less, nevertheless, than the production of a car and its daily use.

Small gestures like switching off the lights or using reusable coffee cups really weigh nothing in the balance next to tackling the real big problems that genuinely generate astronomical quantities of greenhouse gases and deplete the Earth's resources:

Changing our life habits takes time at first. It is difficult. Because it requires thinking about it beforehand, organising ourselves, concentrating on what we are doing, taking the time to consciously perform new gestures which are, as a result, not as quick as our old habits. But once the new habits are in place, we no longer think about them; they have become reflexes, and we are once again quick and effective. Besides feeling better, in better health, physical and inner.

At first it takes an effort, it is true; it is not very pleasant in the early days. It is a bit like pedalling in the first days when we have not exercised for a long time, or like starting to eat vegetables when we are among the sugar addicts. The first days are thus not very pleasant. Nevertheless, as the days go by, these new habits become pleasant — it is even surprising. The body has grown used to them and integrates their beneficial effects, to the point that it is the body itself that starts demanding to go pedalling because the calves itch with the urge to move, or demanding vegetables because the body remembers how much good they did it, inside, for its health, from eating them regularly. Admittedly, the craving for vegetables will never be as strong as the withdrawal felt by sugar addicts. Nevertheless, it will make itself felt — and even after too big a dose of sugar it is worth it, precisely because the body knows that eating green vegetables right afterwards will help it mitigate the damage that this overly violent sugar intake will cause.

The key is to change habits one after the other, climbing small steps each time — easy to climb, one after the other. To become aware of our progress each day, we can note down every evening each small step that has stuck and become a life habit. Let us note 10 small positive things that happened in each of our days, to realise and take in everything that does us good in our life. Start with one small step. And continue only with small steps. Once a small step has become a habit, a reflex, there is no more need to think about it; it is no longer an effort. We can choose another small step.

We then feel within us, every day, the benefits of these new habits that do us good.

Moreover, action does us good. Action is the only way to cancel fear and anxiety.

On top of that, we are proud of our virtuous social status, proud of our measured way of life, which shows in the well-being and inner coherence we feel — which others can see, and which makes them want, in turn, to follow the same path.

It really is worth it.

There are other examples.

Finally, we often forget to think about or see what is positive in our lives. Let us think of it regularly during our day, or write it down each evening before going to bed, for example. We are lucky to:

"When we have enough to feed and shelter ourselves, why chase money and power?" Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari

Let us choose the life habits that do us good.