With a new year fast approaching, you may be thinking about self improvement. Often this takes the form of resolutions, or things that you plan to add to your life, come January 1st. Sometimes, the best thing you can do, professionally and personally, is to take away something, like a bad habit.
Take a moment to consider if you have any habits that lead to communication problems or misunderstandings. Are these things that you can live without?
In the past, I had one. It was a silly little thing but it could be extremely distracting and frustrating to others.
It involved crackers. Often, a national brand that rhymes with the word, “biscuit.”
Let’s say that I was enjoying some of these crackers. At some point, I might decided that it was a good moment to stop eating them. Then the box would go back on the shelf.
Here’s the catch. When I would decide to put the box back, there might only be two or three crackers left inside.
Why? I wasn’t hungry enough to eat the remaining ones. And for me, having two or three crackers, at a later time, is a perfectly reasonable snack. It made sense to me. I assumed everyone else would feel the same way.
Apparently, the rest of the world does not agree. I’ve had friends and family declare, “Who would leave only a few crackers in a box?”
They’ve accused me of misrepresenting a potential snack. Some have wondered if this is some kind of cruel trick. Others have suggested it would be better to have no box of almost empty crackers, rather than one that only featured a mini-meal.
Over time, I’ve realized that it is a habit that bugs people and it surprisingly results in a lot of fuss. Evidently, you don’t want to get between people and food.
While it seems strange to me, I now make sure the box is either finished or I have a second, full box, ready to take its place.
In the big picture, this is not a lot of work me and it creates a much more harmonious kitchen. Habits can come with a price tag and sometimes the resulting distractions and commotion are too much to swallow.
To move forward, sometimes you have to let go of something that is comfortable to you, yet annoying for others.
