It is easy to fall. Whether it is over or into something. However, as Tony Horton, a personal trainer, author, and former actor once said: “Falling and getting back up is what brings success.” Since the start of Coronavirus, many of us have fallen into bad habits. Being home and confined to a four-walled shelter all day and night, not being allowed to leave unless for groceries or taking care of someone(s), will do that to you. I often think bad habits are like a comfortable bed. They are easy to get into, but hard to get out of. We have all heard the phrase, “Old habits die hard.” They do. Nonetheless, no matter how hard or long they may take, they do die. Here is a list of only a few of the most famed bad habits that many of us, including myself, have fallen for during quarantine.
One of the easiest bad habits to fall into—especially during this whole COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine—is laziness. While I was finishing my last year of college, I lived with my best friend. On rare occasions, she and I did not have any assignments, essays, or reports to write, we would have a cleaning or lazy day. Whenever we decided on the second option, her parents would come home to watch us as we sat on our butts and literally did nothing but eat, watch the newest episode of the Last Kingdom of Lucifer, while holding a drink in our hands. When her parents—mostly her mom—saw this, they would say that we were being lazy. My best friend’s general response would be something along the line of, “I am not lazy. I am just on power-saving mode.” Of course, the monkey chuckling noise in the background was me.
It is not a bad thing to have lazy days. Days when all you want or need to do is sit on your but, have a drink, watch a movie, or catch up on a show. It is actually one of the most common things to do when having a day off of work or a day to yourself. Nevertheless, being lazy and having lazy days every day since the surge of a pandemic is not a good thing either. I understand you may have lost your job and are unemployed or have run out of home projects to do at home. But there is more to how you can spend your time rather than just sit around, stuffing your face with a bag of Cheeto puffs, and waiting for season four of Stranger Things to start. Take a walk around your neighborhood. Clean the baseboards in the kitchen. Start your own indoor garden or learn a new skill. Now that you have all the time in the world on your hands, use it to practice, learn, or do the things you have pushed to the back burner of your mind. As the motivational speaker, Denis Waitley, once said: “The truth is, you don’t break a bad habit; you replace it with a good one.”
Next to falling into the bad habit of being lazy—all day long—is the long-running and all-time favorite, worst habit. Eating. I get it. I absolutely do! You like to eat, and why wouldn’t you? It is delicious, comforting, and oftentimes less than five dollars. Guess what. I love to eat too! Still, as I said before, it is by far one of the worst habits to fall into.
Though I will admit it is the easiest bad habit to fall into, it is also the hardest to overcome. Instead of ordering that small pepperoni pizza, with extra cheese, making some salted Top Ramen, or Macaroni and Cheese, try something new. A salad, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Attempt to cook a new recipe. Whether it is for you or for the family. I mean, why not? It is not like you do not have the time to find one or to get the ingredients for it.
I know you may not have to go to work, and it may seem like there is literally nothing else to do. Except you are wrong. I mean, look at the Holderness Family. After watching the video below, they make me want to create some parody videos now, too. Except I doubt they would come out as awesome as theirs did. I do not think I have ever seen a Dad so enthusiastic before in my entire life. And he cut the Wi-Fi!
Okay. I know we are all home all day and have probably run out of ideas and projects to do. However, despite the vacancy list of enterprise or plan of action, you have to keep up with your hygiene. I get that there is no point in it because you are not specifically going anywhere—unless you are. If so, then you are lucky. Nevertheless, that does not mean that your hygiene and self-care should fall behind. Do not slack off of taking care of yourself. When you wake up, take a shower. Put on some clothes and while you are at it, put on some deodorant. Also, after you eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner, then be sure to brush your teeth. Plus, if you keep your good hygiene and maintain it, you have a lesser chance of contracting the Coronavirus.
As I stated before, bad habits are easy to fall into. Still, no matter the time of day, it is never too late to break the habit(s) or replace them with a good one.
DISCLAIMER: Please remember: It's still college, so I expect your definition of "easy" to be somewhat nuanced. But fret not!…
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