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A
bad habit is one which leads one’s body or mind into a wrong direction, which
affects one negatively in the short or long run, thus making one repent it. Some
get into it fast and some slowly. Once deeply enslaved by a bad habit, it is
very difficult to come out of it. Health and wealth get lost. Relationships
become weak or get terminated forever. Dependants suffer. Accidents occur.
Deaths take place. Pain engulfs the forsaken. Society loses its value. Culture
gets tarnished. Nations turn backward slowly.
Bad Habits
Human
beings are more intelligent than other creatures on earth. God equipped them
with such intellect, creativity and vision that they can do wonders
continuously to surprise others. Still, most of human beings are ruining their lives
and professions with one or two bad habits. Below are some examples.
1. Smoking, consumption of alcoholic
drinks and chewing tobacco products have been the highly dangerous bad habits
of humans in the recent past. Smoking affects liver and may lead to throat
cancer. It causes many other health problems also. For many it is a matter of
pleasure. Some are smoking domestic brand cigarettes and some those imported
from other countries. Many smoke other varieties of items also like cigar.
Children, males and females are being affected by this bad habit regularly.
Passive smoking is causing many problems to others. Despite ban of public
smoking in some countries, they are doing it secretly. People living in cold
and very cold regions of the world may consume alcoholic drinks to protect
their bodies from excessive cold around but why should people in hot countries
like India consume these nasty hot drinks at all? State and central governments
are earning huge income from drunkards in their places. On one hand, they
promote themselves as welfare states and they ruin the lifestyles and health of
their citizens on the other hand provoking them to consume poisonous drinks.
Every year millions of people are getting affected due to alcoholism. Drunkards
ruin the peaceful atmosphere in their families, societies and nations. Millions
of nuts, mostly the uneducated ones, are chewing many varieties of tobacco
products daily across the world. Farmers knowingly cultivate tobacco minding
their livelihood needs. Chewing tobacco products is causing death or many
health problems. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs are earning crores of rupees making
and selling these three varieties of highly dangerous items of consumption. It
is quite unfortunate to note that even highly educated ones are smoking and
consuming alcohol despite knowing about the bad effects of these habits.
Governments are spending huge money to treat patients with disorders caused by
smoking, drinking and chewing. They create a burning issue and spend huge money
to solve it regularly. This is the stand and stature of present governments.
2. Being addicted to
narcotics is another bad habit. Governments ban production, distribution and
consumption of these harmful substances but selfish and influential folks in
many regions do this business to earn huge money in no time. Police catch some
wrongdoers for formality sake. They accept bribes from many dealers of
narcotics and allow them to operate in their countries. We have such unreliable
and pitiable departments of law and order in many countries. They promote crime
and unrest secretly. Millions of youth and other segments of society are
getting addicted to narcotics regularly.
3. Gambling is another
pervasive bad habit. Playing cards, betting, investing in share market,
organized fights between cocks, rams, oxen are some of them. Most of Indians
are passionate about playing cards. They lose money in this game. There are
clubs to encourage these bad habits in rich and influential people. They take
it as a matter of social status and prestige. Generally those who can
accumulate huge easy money through different immoral and illegal business
segments play cards much and bet money recklessly to seek sadistic pleasure
from this game. Betting on who or which team wins in a race or competition has
been the recent trend. Cricket betting is most apparent. I often believe that
share market is the largest gambling business in the world now. A has started a
company. He wants some more money to expand it. I buy his shares and contribute
some money. Nobody knows in this world how A is running his company, how long
he can run his company, what profits he is making every financial year and how
much of it he is distributing to his shareholders honestly? I am making others
rich and influential investing my hard-earned money in his venture. At times I may not get even one rupee out of
the investment I made earlier. Companies are like vapour in air. Their success
or failure is decided by many factors around them. Knowing clearly about this
volatility of profits that can be made through share market, many are buying
shares blindly. Many lose a lot of money every single day in the share market.
If one is gaining or losing hugely within a short period of time, it should be
gambling only. There are hundreds of varieties of gambling in this world.
Casino is one of such places promoting gambling.
4. Bloody games involving
humans is another bad habit. Boxing and car racing are just two examples. Is it
fair if two creatures fight opposite us and make the scene bloody in the
process? The government is banning use of animals and birds in feature films
but what about cultivation involving domestic animals and bullock carts used
for local transportation? Dogs pull sledges in some cold countries. Using
anybody or anything in a bloody manner is a bad habit. Every sensitive and
ideal government must ban such games and events.
5. Telling lies is a bad
habit. Modern humans are so accustomed to telling and listening to lies that
they cannot distinguish between a lie and a truth. They are telling lies even
to quite negligible matters in their lives or professions. We can tell lies
occasionally to save ourselves from an immediate danger or save somebody else
from similar adverse situation. Relationships are losing their beauty due to
multiple lies. Lies earn us bad reputation.
6. Riding bikes or driving
vehicles at high speed for pleasure is a bad habit. Many are meeting with accidents
or dying due to this speed in using vehicles. Driving vehicles violating
traffic rules, without breaks and mirrors and outdated ones is also there. Most
of the accidents and deaths caused in any nation are due to carelessness and
craze of a man or a woman in using vehicles. Highly disciplined and regulated
vehicle users are also becoming victims during journeys due to these
undisciplined idiots. They are making roads into spots of mess, stress,
insecurity and pain. Using irritating and confusing horns is also there.
7. Creating and submitting
false documents for any official or regulatory purpose is widespread in India
now. Getting a prestigious private job or a safe and secure government job is a
dream of millions of Indian youth now. When they don’t have relevant
certifications and work experience, they get into cheating. They somehow create
them and grab those attractive jobs. Really talented ones cannot get them at
all. Many recruitment agencies and employment generation units cannot ascertain
the reliability of the candidature of their employees, investigating into the
background of those candidates before offering employment. It consumes a lot of
time. So, they don’t take it seriously. Fraudsters enter such firms directly.
8. Madness for gold and related
ornaments made from precious metals and stones can be seen in 95% of Indian
women. They think a lot about gold. They struggle to buy and keep gold with
them. If four females meet in a familiar place, they may be forced to talk
about gold somehow. To that extent, they are not focusing on improving their
knowledge and skills, which really add value to their lives in course of time.
Passion for gold in Indians is like an inbuilt cancer. Indian economy is
affected due to this bad habit of millions of Indians. Easy money is being
circulated widely. Nobody should ever try to impress others wearing ornaments
or possessing such wealth but through standards and values of highest order.
9. Enjoying today believing
that tomorrow will be bright is a bad habit. Banks and many financial
institutions are giving loans largely nowadays without minding the character or
financial status of the borrowers. Finance is the word we are hearing quite
frequently now. Many employees and entrepreneurs are taking out loans from different
lenders now with a time period of 10 to 15 years to pay back. When we don’t
know what happens to us the very next moment, how can we assure others that we
live happily for another 10 to 15 years? Even if we say so, how can financial
institutions believe in us? The value of the assets which we mortgage to take
out a loan now might be depreciated in course of time or they might be owned by
others legally. How can banks recover the principal and interest from such
cases? Many banks give out loans based on the salaries of employees and the
reputation of the firms with which they are associated now. What if he dies
soon? What if he loses that job? What if he disappears after taking out the loan?
Our banking sector is being run depending on assumptions and imaginations but
not absolute truth and proofs. This is the case across the world. This is why
economies are collapsing at times. Some spend a lot for the marriages in their
families or other occasions believing that this year the yield would be very
good from their agriculture; they get favourable judgement from the court about
their property; their relative sends huge money from abroad as promised earlier
and so on. Hope leads us into tomorrow but there is no certainty that tomorrow
would be good as we expected. We should not celebrate today for tomorrow.
10. Blind agreement, love,
relationship or friendship is a bad habit. Many get into business partnerships
without reading the legal agreements also properly. Whom we trust the best today
turn out into our worst enemies in course of time. When a dispute arises and
you move to a court of law, everything will be in their favour. You can do
nothing except crying alone or calling them names. What’s use? Falling in love
with others blindly and starting a relationship emotionally or passionately may
lead to problems later. The other may cheat you. While in love, we don’t think
about proofs to support our love affair with the other but just enjoy the company
of the other. When we are cheated, we look for proofs to prove his crime or our
innocence. We cannot do either of them because we don’t have proofs. We should
be very careful to initiate and continue any kind of relationship with
unfamiliar ones. Nobody can save us when everything turns upside down.
Relationships are heavenly when they move according to our expectations and
hellish when they are against our hopes and priorities. Maintaining relationships
is very difficult. Friendship cannot be memorable always. We get into a bad
friendship unknowingly. We may do many bad things as part of that group. We
might be caught one day and be in jail. Many get spoilt just because of bad
friends. It is good to spend for 30 minutes with our good enemy rather than spend
for one day with our bad friend.
11. Ogling at others,
especially at the creatures of opposite gender, is a bad habit. We can
certainly see others for a few seconds decently but not for many seconds or
minutes with highly focused attention. Avoid it when in public places in
particular. When you and she are only there, it is not that bad. She scolds you
or advises you softly not to do so but she cannot do so while many are there
around because it may turn into a public nuisance issue. Many do not wish to
make a matter into an issue while in public places. Even if she wears highly
revealing clothes, don’t look at her like a dog but a rabbit or a sheep. Enjoy
seeing it decently. Avoid dirty remarks aiming at her. She is showing her
beauty to you. It is a social service. Accept and appreciate it silently within
yourself instead of treating her like a bad girl.
12. Many neglect their bodies
and suffer later silently. We talk about many things in this world but never
about our body. Do you know what is happening in your body? Cancer must be in
its initial stages in a part of your body. You never know what is happening
inside until you consult a specialist and get diagnosed in standard
laboratories. Many hospitals are offering holistic body check-up facilities now
at affordable fees. Before or after 40 years of age, it is always good to go
for these medical checkups, not out of apprehension about your health but
preventive precautions quite in advance. Many Indians do not consult a doctor
until their health problem gets intensified and turns fatal. They spend lakhs
of rupees at the eleventh hour and lose their dear ones ultimately. It’s
pathetic. Check your body frequently.
13. Many make promises to
others abundantly but never keep them. Politicians are the best example for it.
When we listen to their speeches, we feel as if we are in a heaven now and
going to see another exciting heaven tomorrow itself. They don’t keep the
promises they make publicly. People take them as hypocrites, cheats and clowns
just because of this bad habit in them. Instead of making 10 promises and
fulfilling just one of them after one or two years, just make one promise and
fulfil it within 10 days. Reliability is very important. Others cannot rely on
our promises if we fail to keep them quite often.
14. Borrowing
things from others often and forgetting or neglecting to return them early is a
bad habit. It might be their bicycle, scooter, book, dish, tool or any other
common item. After you used it in your abode of residence or office, remember
to return it to them at the earliest. Never think that they don’t mind even if
you return it after four months. Owners of goods may not use them often but
they seek pleasure and satisfaction in keeping their belongings in their
abodes, not ours. Pay back money borrowed also at the earliest possible date.
It may be five or ten rupees also. Return them fast. It shows your sense of
accountability, morality and punctuality to them. They feel free and happy to
give you anything in future also if you maintain such relationship with them.
Never keep the things of others with you unless they give it to you forever as
a gift. They hate your presence and character if you are indecent.
15. When you stay in the
abode of your friends or well-wishers for a while or a few days, for
professional or personal reasons, be highly disciplined. Don’t keep or throw things
like a mischievous child. You should conduct yourself very decently and
formally. They may offer you a lot out of excessive love but accept or reject
it very softly. Handling ‘no’ is more difficult than ‘yes’. Tell them softly
and briefly why you don’t eat, drink or use something. Never assume that they
know everything. Many Indians don’t know the name of our prime minister or
president also because they don’t need it. They are living on their own. They
don’t feel like knowing about others without purpose. Even if you are the
richest man in the world, even a mosquito may not care you if you go to its
place by chance or with intention. When you want to get something done over
there, introduce yourself briefly and explain them what you want from them. Many
are not as interested and focused on us as we assume. Shun ego and false
prestige first.
16. You cannot impress others
with words as much as you can with
your acts. A female beggar is looking desperate. She is begging you to offer
her a little money. You started talking with her or others about the nuisance
of begging in India. She goes away from there within seconds because she is
hungry. Only money or food items can solve her problem. She is not in a
position to change herself or this world after listening to your words. Offer
her a little money or just ignore her. To save somebody, we need to do
something. Kindness is greater than analysis when the other is dying slowly
before us. Give hope or life to others rather than speeches of apostles always.
We don’t know why one became so. Destiny is strong. We cannot change it. Being
generous towards those suffering is the best thing we can do to them.
17. Don’t leave children
unattended. Never leave children to do what they like or go wherever they want.
Absolute freedom to children often leads to dangers and deaths. Moderate
supervision and observation are always necessary. Children don’t know how to
conduct themselves when they are left alone. They may be misguided, abused or
abducted by others. They wish to do many things out of impulse but not
analytical or rational outlook. We often hear about children drowning in water
bodies or meeting with accidents on roads when riding their bikes or driving
their cars at fashionable speed. Avoid them, controlling them.
18. Learn
to say ‘no’ to as many people as possible when you cannot do something for
them. All things are not accessible or possible to us. We should not take every
responsibility onto our shoulders to comfort, please or inspire others
artificially. We should know what we can or cannot do. We have limited time and
resources. When we are unable to do our things in time due to pressing
responsibilities, how can we help or guide others? Taking up every
responsibility for courtesy or formality sake and then dropping off it in the
middle of it earns a bad image to us in others. We can avoid this complication
if we learn and practise saying ‘no to others decently. Say ‘yes’ only when you
believe that you can do it in time.
19. Shopping has become a
fashion and style to many superficial idiots now across the world. They buy something somewhere not
because they need it but because it is a hobby to them. I wonder when I read
about some film actors and actresses. One buys a number of jeans. One buys a
number of footwear. Why this madness? God did not give this valuable life to
follow fashions and create mad trends but to understand the essence of your
life and help others when you are comfortable and happy at your level. What do
you do if you have 1000 saris? Are you expecting others to value you based on
your physical decoration alone but not psychological growth? Your standards and
values add more value to your life rather than how you are appearing to others.
Do not buy anything out of impulse but only if you need it badly. Even if 100
salesmen persuade you to buy a kilo of pure gold at unbelievably affordable
price, you should not buy it if you don’t need it. You should buy good
toothpaste on your choice when you need it even if nobody forces you to do it.
You should never be a shopping addict. Be disciplined and sensible.
20. Many try fixing, fitting
and repairing such gadgets, tools and implements, in which they were not
trained at all. Never try to repair an electrical switch, a ceiling fan,
laboratory equipment, a television, a cellphone or any other item if you are
not 100% adept in it. Similarly do not ride a bike, drive a car, advise use of
medicines to others unless you are an expert in that field of knowledge or
skills. Casual and careless advice to others may land them in problems. If you
do what you cannot do, you may hurt yourself or ruin the lives of others. Both
are crimes and sins. We need experts to do many things.
21. Never spend money beyond
your capacity. Never compare yourself with others. You are unique. You should
live according to your preferences and abilities but not in tune to
contemporary trends. Many are smoking and drinking now for formality or as part
of a party. Is it good for health? Do you earn a good image in society doing
such things for fashion? Then, why should you do them? You need not buy a
cellphone spending 10,000 rupees when you are earning 8,000 rupees a month. You
can buy one spending 1,000 rupees or less than it. You can spend one lakh
rupees within 10 seconds buying something randomly but imagine how much time
you need to earn it honestly and decently? When we have no financial control,
we ruin our lives and those of others also who believe in us or depend on us.
Nobody has time now to listen to the story of a pauper but a billionaire. You
can be balanced in your life only when you plan strictly and implement it
honestly as far as what you are earning and spending is concerned. Do not
misuse or disuse money. Earn in a morally appreciable manner. Spend it
cautiously.
22. Avoid dependence. Nobody
comes with you to every place to fulfill all your needs. Don’t expect your
mother, father, brother, cousin or a servant to serve you always. You should
know how to cook a little food for your survival, wash your clothes, clean your
abode of residence or office, tour a place independently and so on.
Self-reliance is very important in human life. Even if you are a billionaire,
God creates such situation once or twice where you should do something on your
own for your survival. You should have basic knowledge and skills required for
your nominal survival in adverse conditions also.
23. Keep your expectations
from others short always. Just like you wish to enjoy your life utilizing the
strength of your body and intelligence of your brain, even all other creatures
are focused on such lifestyle only. Don’t expect too much respect or affection
from others even if you have given life to them. Man’s moods keep changing. He
falls on your feet when he is about to die in a few minutes out of hunger and
thirst. When you provide him with life offering him food and water, he gains
energy. Then he may think how to pull your legs and assume your position. So,
do not believe in anybody completely without proper analysis of his character
as an outsider for considerable period of time. Never think others run your
business or life ideally always. When you are a patient, a nurse may serve you
honestly for a few days. Then she may wish to kill you and grab your assets and
properties somehow. The more your expectations from others, the more you suffer
and lose. Never allow others to take crucial decisions about your life or
business. They kick you onto the road and make you into a hopeless parasite. No
use in crying then!
24. Do
not blame God for anything unfortunate that happened in your life. God’s only
duty is to create millions of souls and allow them to play in His universe with
various physical forms. What you do in various life forms would be the account
of your soul. To understand it better, let’s suppose that four fathers left
their kids in a ground. There are four exits to that ground. One child crawled
towards a pond, one child towards a forest, one child towards a desert and one
child towards a garden. One learns swimming; one learns hunting; one learns
living in hot conditions and one learns living through gardening. Their fathers
did not guide these innocent kids towards a particular destination but they did
it on their own. What we choose in the huge kingdom of God, decides what kinds
of life forms we take and how we live in that long spiritual journey. God is
impartial and generous. You are responsible for your destiny. If you do good
things, you would live happily. If you do bad things, despite direct and
indirect warnings to you by God, you would suffer immensely soon or later. You
can build your life strongly and ideally thinking and working in that direction
always. You can ruin your life through your carelessness and stupidity. What
you make of your life is up to you. God is just a formal and unbiased supervisor.
25. Don’t make your life or
profession tense, messy, disgusting and disappointing knowingly, especially
when you have multiple options to choose from. In helpless, hopeless and restricted
environment, we cannot help doing what is given by chance. When there is an
opportunity for making a choice, do that which keeps you satisfied and balanced.
Some millionaires leave their business empires all of a sudden and join a
spiritual or religious abode for peace and solace. Some quit their comfortable,
happy and luxurious married lives in the middle of it. When they realize that
it is all mirage, they try to find real happiness. They choose to meditate and
reach God. Realization is very important in human life. What is your goal? Can
you reach that goal? If you have reached that goal, what else should you do? If
you are vexed in life, what do you wish to do? What do you want to achieve
taking a different route altogether from the present one? Plan to remove stress
and strain from your life. Sit in a farmland silently on a moonlit night to get
profound ideas about life instead of making yourself mad going to a nightclub.
You can change your life only when you think in that direction deeply and try
hard to keep yourself calm.
26. Balance your ego. We need
to maintain some levels of ego to live with self-respect. We don’t go to any
function in our area and have dinner just like that. We go to a party only if
there is an invitation. We don’t grab food from the bowl of a beggar even when
we are hungry on a day due to delay in our scheduled work but wait patiently,
go to a hotel or home and have food. We don’t go to the house of our enemy to
borrow money even if his house is close to ours but go for kilometres and seek
help from our friends or well-wishers only. We are doing so because we have
ego. We need ego in these contexts. We should not maintain ego in the following
context. You are the chairman of a company. You are going to address a
gathering of educated youth in an educational institution this evening. You
have to talk about the greatness of youth in any nation. You are preparing
matter for it typing it on your computer. You are not getting ideas. You know
that your office boy daily reads short books of Swami Vivekananda. You should
humbly borrow his book to get insights on the topic. If you don’t do it, when
pressed for time, in critical conditions, you will be the loser. To gain
knowledge and improve our skills, we should shun our ego. We should go to any
extent to improve our strengths as an individual or professional. If you stop
interacting with unfamiliar or helpless people out of your ego, you don’t grow
psychologically. Your interaction or familiarity should not be confined to one
subject or one class of society only but a variety of people, contexts and
situations. Diversification and multidimensional approach are important to
enhance our understanding about things around. Those with excess ego suffer
silently and die pathetically. Being open-minded, honest, humble and unbiased
is important. We can become so when we balance our ego.
27. Don’t take anything for
granted. We generally develop impressions about others based on some events or
experiences with them once. We harbour the feelings of animosity towards them
internally remembering what happened long ago. It must be avoided. In course of
time, many people and things change automatically. Whom you saw once as a thief
might have become a sage later. Who remained poor and ugly once might have
become handsome and rich later. The girl whom you loved once and wanted to
marry but failed to do so due to her ego might have changed a lot later.
Perhaps she must be struggling to see you. You may be a source of solace and
inspiration to her, which she neglected when you adored her. Treat her kindly
if she comes across you by chance. Erase past impressions and develop fresh and
unbiased outlook towards people, places, events and phenomena around you. If
you narrow down your circle of desired and appreciable ones, based on your
agenda, one day you may remain alone in your room. When we don’t find suitable
ones, we should make unsuitable ones into our favourable ones through our
reorientation and efforts. We must change our attitudes about others knowing
present facts, without lingering with our past impressions and imaginations.
Observe and appreciate change around.
28. Learn to accept what is
given. You may not have children. You may not be successful even if you have
been honest and hard-working. You may not be identified and appreciated despite
your genius and great results out of what you did somewhere. All your family
members might have cheated you though you were generous towards them. Your skin
is not fair. You are not much educated. No girl is looking at you. Nobody is
interested to be your friend. Everything is turning negative in your life or
profession at the eleventh hour. Our birth or death is not in our control. Then
how can we control what is to befall our life? Accept everything patiently
because there is no use of crying about anything that happened against our
wish. Accepting things as they come, you would grow psychologically. You would
come into terms with reality instead of fantasizing. Believe in God and keep
going. This is how millions of desperate people and helpless creatures are
living in this world. They are accepting things imposed on them. Are animals
committing suicides knowing that they would be butchered in an abattoir? Are
birds ending their lives when it is raining heavily? Many are living somehow
withstanding suffering, pain and loss.
29. Don’t be carried away by
trends, fashions and styles but develop and retain an individuality of your
own. Different hairstyles don’t make you a great person. Wearing stylish
clothes does not make you handsome. Changing cellphones quite frequently does
not earn a great image for you in a society. Riding a bike fast or making fun
of others at will does not make you positively different. If you follow
superficial trends always and don’t have unique ideas and experiences of your
own, you remain as a simpleton in any society forever. You would continue to
live in a domain of false prestige and ignorance. It’s a layer of vapour. It
may melt at any time due to the power of reality. Can you say that a film is
good for so and so reasons despite a thousand viewers talking badly about it?
Can you marry a beautiful and innocent girl in spite of aversion and negation
by everybody in your village or town? Do you consume buttermilk when all of
your friends are consuming alcoholic drinks in a party? Do you study physics
only though all your teachers advised you to pursue chemistry? Those with
individuality only can swim against the stream of disappointing circumstances
and adversities. Others cannot influence them that easily. They have rock-solid
determinations, plans and vision for their lives and those of others. They live
ideally despite hardships. Check if you have such individuality or can become
so in course of time despite difficulties. Admirable individuality is many
times stronger than money, assets, attractions and authority.
30. Never stop unlearning.
Everybody must move from darkness to light when evolution is taking place.
Revolution occurs only when people reform themselves. Unlearning means avoiding
doing such things which you found to be wrong after careful analysis or
personal experience. You admired an actor blindly till yesterday. Today you
don’t care him because you knew many bitter truths about him. You are drinking adequate
water every day after knowing that it is good for your health. You stopped
telling lies after you realized that many are suffering due to such attitude in
you. You thought that those that study in distance education mode are not
intelligent ones but you recruited such candidates only after realizing that it
is a wrong perception altogether. Unlearning means learning new good things
slowly leaving old bad things based on your calculated and tested judgement.
Avoid blind beliefs, being rational, logical and ideal.
31. Don’t
desire but deserve. Don’t dream to go abroad and pursue higher studies without a
passport and basic education in your country. Don’t be jealous of millionaires
but check if you can become one soon applying your intelligence and skills.
Don’t rush into an Express train without reserving a berth for you quite in
advance. Don’t try to write a book when you cannot sit properly for a few
minutes also. Don’t expect everybody to stand up and salute you when you are
passing by them. Improving your value as a person and professional, struggling
hard continuously, is the only way to better your actual image in a society. You
cannot gain great status and respect without great qualities in you. What you
get easily does not make you content and happy. Achieve that which brings hope
and joy into the lives of the affected.
32. Inculcate good manners. ‘Sorry’,
‘thank you’ and ‘please’ are the words which earn many friends, relatives and
well-wishers to you in the short or long run. When you cannot smile and
appreciate others, you cannot get them from others. When you don’t respect and
love others, they don’t do so towards you. Every action has an equal and
opposite reaction. How you talk and behave decides who and how long they stay
with you. Relationships are sensitive. You should build them through great
standards and values. If you could not earn even one good friend in ten years’
time, it means you did not care for people. They console you when you are in
distress only if you had loved and cared for them when you were happy in all
respects. Building great relationships and retaining them for long takes much
effort and time but breaking such relationships takes a few seconds only. When
we remain solitary psychologically, we are almost dead. Go and love the world
around you to make your life animated. Don’t remain detached.
Let’s
see how we get drawn towards bad habits and how they influence us later.
1. Society, culture,
region, religion and environment influence one towards getting addicted to a
bad habit. In some societies, consumption of liquor is quite common. In western
culture, consumption of alcoholic drinks and meat is common though they are bad
habits from a health point of view. In some regions, people get addicted to
some bad habits, which cannot be seen in other areas of the same nation. Hindus
offer blood of animals and birds as an offering to Goddess Durga in many parts
of India. Cutting throats of helpless creatures during festivals, ceremonies
and fairs can also be seen in parts of India.
2. Casual behaviour often
leads us into many bad habits. Our friends or relatives offer alcoholic drinks,
cigarettes or other harmful products to us on some occasion. We get addicted to
them gradually.
3. Excessive freedom often
pulls us into bad habits. When there is nobody to observe or question us when
we do something wrong, we mostly get attracted towards bad habits. It happens
quite unknowingly.
4. Much wealth or unbearable
poverty may also get us into bad habits. When we have bundles of easy money, we
turn to bad habits. When we are extremely poor, we turn to bad habits due to
ignorance.
5. Tragedies in lives may
also put us in bad habits. When one fails badly despite good habits, one
resorts to bad habits. One, in such situation, argues that one should be bad to
be happy in disturbed life.
6. Demonstration effect also
makes us victims of bad habits if circumstances are favourable. A police often
raiding on brothels or terrorist camps may become a pimp or terrorist, being
attracted towards them.
7. Helplessness is also a major
force that pushes us towards bad habits. When there is no chance to live earning
money honestly, one becomes a thief, dacoit, killer or fraudster to earn fast,
harming others.
8. Low standards in the law
and order environment of a country attract many towards crimes and bad habits.
When I know that police and lawyers are ineffective, I don’t mind committing frauds
and crimes.
9. False prestige also
leads to bad habits. If I wish to satisfy my girlfriend presenting highly
valuable gifts quite often, when I am essentially poor, I resort to robberies
and thefts to earn hugely fast somehow.
10. Laziness and family upbringing also push us towards
bad habits. When I am lazy, I try to earn money cheating others fast. When many
are fraudsters in my family, I too generally choose that path.
11. Professional environment
often affects us. One working in a cigarette factory or smuggled goods business
believes that smoking or cheating governments is never wrong. They support
their views.
12. Ambition for immediate
and extraordinary fame also throws us into a domain of bad habits. To achieve
one’s goal fast, one gets ready to do anything. Prostitution and bribery are just
two examples.
13. One bad habit is enough
to ruin our lives and those of others related to us. Terrorists and drunkards
are the best examples. One kills others. One harms oneself and tortures those
depending on one.
14. What is considered a good
habit today might be taken as a bad one tomorrow at a personal, societal or
professional level. If you consume 50 ml of alcohol, it’s good. What if you
make it 500 ml daily?
15. Many have excuses as to
why they got into and are continuing in bad habits. Without self-reformation
and determination, one cannot come out of one’s bad habits. They always remain
as victims of bad habits.
16. One that could shun one’s
bad habit after being with it for years is greater than one that has no bad
habits at all. One that came out of a bad habit can educate others better than
one that has no bad habits.
Insights
1. To be away from bad
habits, list out all bad habits as per your knowledge and information and
resolve yourself never to be addicted to any of those bad habits. You are the
best teacher to yourself always.
2. All those that have bad
habits may not be bad people. Often many suffer at their level only due to
their bad habits. It happens so because they cannot come out of them that
easily or fast despite their best efforts.
3. If majority of people
are addicted to one or two bad habits in a place or nation, unrest and pain
prevail there. Bad habits are contagious. They spread fast. It is good to stay
away from such people and places.
4. One may take years to
learn a lesson from a bad habit and become great immediately. Tragic incidents
or fatal accidents often serve as eye-openers to many. Positive change in them
may be unbelievable at times.
5. Governments can keep
people away from bad habits if they are empathetic and ideal to the core.
Banning all bad products and unethical practices is the easy way to reform
people and keep them happy.
6. Doing one thing
excessively or illogically can be treated as a bad habit. If you look at me
once, it’s an acceptable glance of appreciation. If you follow me wherever I
go, it’s unbearable dose of attachment.
7. Self-tuning mostly helps
you stay away from bad habits. You know what your bad habit is. If you want
health and happiness, you should get out of it applying your willpower, efforts
and vision on your own.
8. If many depend on your intelligence,
goodness and hard work, you should be away from all kinds of bad habits. If you
have more responsibilities, you should be very ideal and practical in your
outlook.
9. Never regret or blame
others for how you became by now. Getting into bad habits happens quite
naturally across the world because it is human demerit. Be a challenger coming
out of it slowly or fast.
10. Many talk very badly
about you, beyond your presence, if you have bad habits. The only way to regain
that lost good image of you in your circle is to change extraordinarily and do
wonders steadily.
I
conclude this stream of thoughts, adding my example related to this subject.
Betting small amount of money on desks of dice has been my negligible bad habit
for some years. I do it once a year. I generally bet 10 rupees in each round of
this public entertainment game and may lose 200 to 400 rupees at the most. It
does not impact my life negatively much. Yet, it is a bad habit. I know it.
Recently I lost 2,400 rupees in this game in a few hours’ time. It is
negligible amount of money to my present financial status but it shows that I
am degrading slowly betting and losing more. Bad habit is like a cancer. It poisons
your body and mind gradually. The day I lost this money, I have decided strongly
never to get into this or any bad habit thereafter in my life. This is what we
consider self-realization. I commanded myself like a ruthless dictator. I will
never be a victim to any bad habit. I took some time to reach this stage of
self-reformation. Lessons learnt through our bitter experiences change us
better than those taught by others in classrooms.
