TABLE OF CONTENTS Habits are routines repeated patterns of behaviour.
Habits can be necessary and useful, but they can also work against your interests.
Read the following two cases:
Delroy's company sold agricultural equipment, and Delroy's job was to run short training courses on the use and upkeep of the equipment. When a new piece of machinery came out about every three years Delroy had to learn about it himself. During the first few courses a lot of questions would arise and Delroy sometimes had to go back to the manufacturer for the answers. Then, after a while, he would get to know the equipment well, and could usually answer any questions. His training tended to develop into a pattern, which was repeated week after week.
One day Delroy was called into his manager's office. 'I've had complaints, Delroy, that your sessions are boring and that you look bored yourself. How can we expect our customers to be enthusiastic if we aren't?'
Riaz was a nursing team leader in a clinic. He took his job very seriously and hardly ever took time off. When he did he would make sure his staff knew where he was at all times, and told them to call him if anything difficult came up. His team members got into the habit of calling Riaz whenever they were in the least bit unsure about how to deal with a problem. Then one day Riaz went sick himself. While he was recovering, he fretted and...
