“How quickly we fall into these roles…” ~ Dr. Philip Zimbardo
I recently listened to a podcast interview of Dr. Zimbardo, conductor of the Stanford Prison Experiment. In the interview, he said the quote above in discussing the actions of the experiment’s participants. This got me thinking about habits, routines, and how willing we are to accept our current situation.
If you know me, you know I like trying new things and switching up my routine and habits. Doing so makes life interesting for me because I’m not a fan of contentment and habitual action with no consideration. Every so often though, I catch myself falling into a routine that I know isn’t optimal for me.
There will be spans of time where I don’t paint, don’t write, and don’t podcast, simply because I make excuses day by day. I “fall into this role” of being content, going to work, and looking at my phone instead of being productive. I unconsciously accept this new routine and make excuses as to why I continue to follow it.
It doesn’t take much to fall into bad habits and routines. Forming healthy habits can take weeks, but it only takes a few days to fall off the wagon. It’s easy to be lazy, to eat poorly, lose your cool, and sleep in. It’s difficult to do the opposite.
We quickly and easily fall into the role of being content, doing only what we need to each day, never exploring new perspectives or skills, and accepting our current self instead of demanding what’s best for ourselves. We do this, because it’s easy.
If we want to be better, we have to challenge the urge to stay where we are. We have to recognize the role we’ve been playing and decide to change it. Your desire to be better has to be stronger than your desire to keep playing your current role. Once you find the strength to change, you can start acting in ways the best version of you would.
Don’t fall into a role that doesn’t demand the best of you. It’s easy to let bad habits dictate your decisions, but that doesn’t mean you can’t challenge them and try to be better.
August 10, 2022
