Hi everyone, Happy Friday! So this morning I witnessed something that may seem tiny and inconsequential to some, but in the moment when it happened I was so struck with a feeling of awe and amazement, I have to tell you guys about it. It was like one of those “aha” moments that you always hear about, and just so cool to process.
Let me back up for a minute. A few weeks ago, I moved the trash can in our bathroom from the left side of the sink to the right side. Small, inconsequential change, right? Except for the fact that every day since I moved that trash can, I’ve watched my daughter go to throw away a tissue and automatically go to the left side first (she wipes her mouth with a tissue every morning after brushing her teeth…a little wasteful I know, but we’re working on independence right now and if she’s brushing and not making a huge mess, I’m happy with it).
Anyway, the first day or two, I think she even actually threw the tissue down, then saw it land on the floor and had to pick it up and throw it in the trash on the other side. Then, for the past week and a half or so, every time she’s done brushing I’ve watched her still automatically go to the left side, be about to throw it down, see that the trash can wasn’t there, stop herself, and then throw it to the right side where the trash can now exists. Sometimes I’ve even heard her say a cute little “oh” in surprise as she looks down and remembers that it got moved.
This morning though, for the first time in over two weeks, she wiped her face, and without hesitation turned to the right and threw that tissue away in the garbage can. Slam dunk! You go girl.
Now I know for her, it was not some monumental moment, and she had zero thoughts about what she had just done and will not give it a half a second more thought today or ever (unless per my fickle ways I move the trash can again sometime in the future, which we all know is entirely possible). For me though, it was huge. I had to seriously stop myself from gasping out loud and giving her a congratulatory high five. For me, it was proof that all this stuff I read about habit forming and changing automated thoughts is true, and really works. They don’t happen overnight, and obviously big habit changes will take much longer than the 2 or so weeks that this took, but they do happen and it does work!
It was truly amazing to see it happen and actually recognize in the moment that the habit had been changed and a new automatic thought/process had replaced the old one. It honestly made me feel so great to see it because it really just made me believe so much more that change can happen and things that I want to change about my own habits can really be changed if I give it enough time.
I’m one of those people who typically gives up easily if I don’t see change happen very quickly. I get frustrated and go back to old ways if I don’t get the results I want right away. From now on though, I’m going to try to remind myself of the moment I had this morning when I saw my daughter throw that tissue away on the right side of the sink without a moment of hesitation or thought and will tell myself that if I stay consistent and persistent, some of the habits I want to form may someday come that easily to me too.
I hope this little moment helps anyone else out there who’s feeling frustrated with trying to form a new habit or routine for themselves. Stick with it, have a nice weekend, and I hope you have your own version of a slam dunk today!