I admit that I have bad habits. I think everybody does. One of my habits is to read a little bit while I’m at a red light. Is it bad? Well, I think that’s a matter of opinion. I think it’s no worse than talking to someone or changing the station on your radio. It does, however, mean that I’m not going to race off the line, but tend to start more like a bus or truck, just a little behind regular traffic. I do that anyhow, though, as it’s better on my car and better for my fuel economy. This might irk some people.

There are a lot of people who, for some reason or other, are very impatient in traffic. Stress. They let some very minor events in life get to them to the point where they get stressed beyond what is reasonable and healthy. I admit that I’ve done that. And I know I shouldn’t. I’ve heard of road rage. I’ve seen news stories about it – primarily from the USA. But it does happen everywhere. And it’s not good, regardless of where it happens. We need to learn to let these things go. There’s a book titled, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff--and it's all small stuff" that I think expresses this exactly right in the title. It’s interesting that one of the first examples in the book is traffic related.

For years I’ve tried to live this kind of philosophy – and I never read the book. Of course we should always have a little bit of concern in our lives. If we don’t and have too much of a lackadaisical attitude, then bills won’t get paid, overspending is likely, we won’t eat properly, and other bad things can happen. The right amount of diligence is necessary. But stressing over things that we can do nothing about or that truly do not matter very much is a waste of energy. And it’s bad for your health!

So, we need to pay attention to the habits that actually matter. And other people’s are not likely amongst those. Should we sweat it if our co-workers are smokers? Even if it’s someone we love, who doesn’t live with us, it’s really not worth worrying about. Adults are capable of reason. And anyone over the age of 14 is able to reason that such a thing as smoking is bad for the body. Whether that is strong enough a reason with peer pressure is another issue. But then we are one of the few creatures that are capable of evolving while still alive (possibly the only one), even if it is merely in a mental and spiritual sense. Decisions to take up habits can be changed.

Of course if someone we care about has a bad habit, then we are going to worry about it. That is only natural. We love someone, and they are doing something that is bad for them. The worst of these habits are things like drugs, including alcohol and cigarettes, gambling, and other self-destructive behaviours. And we want to help them. That is part of caring. But we cannot let the worry for these others destroy our lives. We must live what is best for ourselves. And we must do what is necessary to shelter ourselves from the effects of others bad habits, while still letting them know that we still love them. Even while we are taking care of ourselves first.

Habits are just that. They are a conscious decision. They are something that only the person who has them is able to control. The latest research shows that even addictions, including drugs and alcohol, are decisions. For the addicts, it is easier to decide to follow the addicting habit than it is to stop it. And that is a conscious decision that people make. Learning to understand and deal with these is another matter. As an evolved human, you must decide what habits you have that are good and which are not so good. And adjust (or evolve) accordingly.