Ever taken a look at my nails?
On a good day, i have a manicure and a pop of colour. On an okay day, my nails are natural. And on my worst days (nervous, busy etc), you can see that while i do not chew my nails, i still take a lot out on them.
I have had my great days where i let my nails grow, paint them and love them. Growing my nails takes a few weeks. For me, it is the most boring couple of weeks as i track the growth and paint, clean, re-paint. But then give me one stressful or very bored day and i cut them all off!
This happened this month.
I made a vow to leave my nails alone. Everytime i absentmindedly started playing with them, i would stop myself and focus on something else. I lasted a few weeks. Then one fine day, i sat down and played with them. Again.
And you see, my nails remind me of a lot of things. Like building things up and taking them down. Like how it is much easier to destroy than to build up.
Think about it. It took me WEEKS to get my nails to a passable level. It took MINUTES to cut them off. Or like my hair. I have been growing my hair now for about seven years. I am sure if i go to a salon now, it would take about thirty minutes maximum to shave it off!
I wonder why negative things cost us less (in the short run), and good things take longer and feel more tedious. But i am also mindful of how it may feel like it is easier to just be bad, but in the long run, series of negative thoughts, patterns and behaviour will hurt us.
From my nails i learn two things
- It is so much harder to build (a business, reputation, a person) than it is to destroy it. All that we do can be lost with one careless word, thought or action. We have to be careful!
- It is so much harder to build (a business, reputation, a person) than it is to destroy it. All that we do can be lost with one careless word, thought or action. We have to be careful!
- Easier does not always translate to better. Yes, growing my nails is a big deal and stressful for me but it carries so many more benefits than the easy 'attack-nails-when-stressed' behaviour.
- Build habits early!
I wish i had learnt to stop attacking my nails while i was a lot younger. By now, i won't even be going back and forth on it. Habits can be annoying to form and bad habits are always easier to form and harder to kick, but habits learnt when young will benefit us for much longer and will become a seamless part of us as we grow older.
I wish i had learnt to stop attacking my nails while i was a lot younger. By now, i won't even be going back and forth on it. Habits can be annoying to form and bad habits are always easier to form and harder to kick, but habits learnt when young will benefit us for much longer and will become a seamless part of us as we grow older.
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