Habits can control us

By Rennie Phillips

I was going to do something in my four-wheeler the other day so I went to put my gloves on. I wear leather gloves year round. I had the right hand glove under something so I went to put my left hand glove on first. It just seemed weird putting the left hand on before the right. This got me to thinking that almost without exception I always put my right hand on before the left hand glove. Same with my shoes. Always put the right shoe on before the left. I'm probably more a creature of habit than I want to admit.

I remember growing up we'd have to go get the milk cows in the morning. It seemed like they didn't want to get around and move early in the morning. But many times in the evening they would come in to be milked. I know their bags were full of milk but I also think that coming in to be milked was so much a habit they just came because of it being a habit.

Years ago when I worked for Vic Roberts up northeast of Chadron, Nebraska, he'd put some of his horses in the barn in the evening and grain them. Those old horses knew which stall was theirs and where they needed to go. They knew. Same with our bottle Jersey steers. For the first month or so we had them in little stalls where they learned how to drink from the bottle but also how to eat grain. They always went in the same pen. When we started turning them out in the daytime we would put them back in the barn in the evening. Sometimes the wrong steer went in a pen and he knew it was wrong. He didn't know what to do but it was evident it was wrong. So we'd switch them so that the right steer was in the right pen.

Yesterday I met a guy down by Benton and found out he was a 40 year veteran. He commented on my article so I went ahead and told him about doing this article on habits. He asked me does the right shoe lace go over the left or does the left go over the right? I didn't have a clue so he informed me the left goes over the right. I sure didn't know that. I'd bet he still does the left over the right and he's retired. Still a habit. I don't know but I'd bet most everything in the service is done the same way every time. Making their beds, eating, dressing, etc. is done to form habits.

When I get in someone else's car to drive it I almost always check the two outside mirrors, but hardly ever check the rearview mirror in the car. I seldom ever use the inside mirror in my pickup. Probably partly true where I've always had a topper on my pickups. So I rely almost totally on the two side mirrors. Then for years I've pulled a trailer enough the only usable mirrors are the side ones. Just a creature of habit.

Back growing up in Nebraska we drove a tractor a good part of the summer. Dad had a little place (a couple sections) so it didn't take that long to put up his hay. Then when my Mom's Dad got older, Dad would take his haying equipment up to Grandpa's and put his hay up. But when Dad contracted with a big neighboring ranch to mow their hay, we went from driving a little to driving a lot. We would mow with a 9 foot sickle mower from early in the morning till late afternoon at least six days a week. Normally we'd start around July 4 and work till school started in September. The only time we got a break was when it rained and the hay was wet. The sickle mower bar stuck out the right side of the tractor so you were constantly looking back and to the right. And to be honest even today 40 years later I still have a hard time looking left when I'm using my tractor. When I go to attach a piece of equipment using the three point system, I find it almost impossible to look over my left shoulder.

When we go to Church, we tend to sit in the same pew in about the same place. We attend a little church in Commerce when we can, so we kind of know everyone who attends there. As my mind wanders around the church I can see the different families sitting where they normally sit. The guy and his family from Painton sit on the left side at the back. Johnnie's sister and her family sit up in front of him. The carpenter family always sits on the right side about five rows from the back. When Marge and I attend we try not to sit where the regulars sit so as to not disrupt the normal "seating" chart. We are just creatures of habit.

We need to realize this and I'm speaking to myself here as well. When someone you love and care about does their habitual thing, smile and have patience. They may have done this same thing in the same way for decades.

Growing up, our bedrooms were back in the ice box and I'm being honest. Man they were cold. So Dad would get ready for bed in the front room by the stove. He'd strip down to his boxers and a t-shirt and they would be there by the stove in the morning. I can't remember Mom ever complaining. Not once.

Pay attention to how you go about your day and look for good but also for annoying habits. A friend of mine didn't want his coffee cup cleaned. It's like he had seasoned it with weeks and months of coffee stain and that's how he liked it. But his wife power scrubbed it one day. His habit finally annoyed her enough she couldn't take it. He wasn't happy but they made peace. So now his stained coffee cup will again wait for that fateful day when she can't stand it any longer.

Some habits are good ones. Church on Sunday is a good habit. Spending time with family and friends is a good habit. If you have loved ones who are shut ins make sure to keep in touch. Make it a habit to call someone you met during your journey here on this earth every now and then. Support your local food pantry. Praise more and gripe less. Turn your phone off and talk. Meet and visit over a cup of coffee or tea. Get together with some friends and gather goodies for a family in need. Let someone deliver the goodies so you can remain anonymous.

A habit of giving is an awesome gift.