We Haven’t Reached the Ends of Ourselves Yet

Habits and assumptions and the prospect of change

I just figured out why the keyboard tray seems to have done the opposite of what it was supposed to do. About a month ago, I got a pair of properly fitting glasses that made my prescription so much more effective. It’s brilliant — the world has crisp lines again! — but I’ve still been habitually leaning in towards my screens, and now with the keyboard tray pulled out, I’ve been leaning in further to cover the distance, but the thing is that I don’t need to lean in towards my screens anymore. I can see perfectly well now. I started testing it yesterday, leaning further back than I even need to, and everything is crisp and clear.

So why am I still leaning in like it’s all fine print? Habit, pure habit. Several times already since I started this post, I’ve had to remind myself to lean back in my chair instead of hunching over my desk.

Because I’m me, I have of course telegraphed this to cover other areas of my life. What else am I doing habitually that I no longer need to do? There are all kinds of things I do and think that no longer make sense as life changes. For example, I had friends that teased me about being clumsy when I was a kid, and I’ve assumed clumsiness as part of who I am since elementary school. I was thinking about this…