Habits.
"Bad habits are like chains that are too light to feel until they are too heavy to carry." Warren Buffett
"Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters." Nathaniel Emmons
We all have habits. Some good and some bad. Either way they form a large part of who we are.
The power of a habit is that it is something you do all the time. Consistently. You don't miss a day without it. You feel strange when you have missed it. A habit becomes an integral part of you. When it goes missing you feel incomplete. Habits are powerful.
A bad habit can destroy a person. Slowly. Subtly. They creep up on you, largely unnoticed, destroying you bit by bit. Bad habits need to be destroyed before they destroy you.
Good habits can build a person. Slowly. Subtly. Good habits done day by day, in small steps, develop you into a better person. You don't see the progress you have made until you look back. Good habits developed will in turn develop you.
We are now in the time between Pesach and Shavuos when we count Sefirat HaOmer. Literally meaning, "Counting the Omer"
Sefirah also comes from the word of "Sapir" meaning shining. The Omer offering was brought from barley as opposed to the majority of offerings which were brought from wheat. Barley is animal fodder. Sefirat HaOmer is about shining up your animal. Doing away with the negative habit which have become part of you and developing positive ones in their stead.
Homework: Write up a list of your bad habits. Then write up a list of the good habits you would like to develop.
There is going to be a follow up post with a tip I have been using to help you continue in developing good habits.
