The Complaining HABIT
"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs one step at a time." Mark Twain
Dr. Low said, “Everything that is done a few times is NO habit. And without habits, he will continually fall back into his own ways, and the old ways are not good,” and the “ceaseless recounting of experiences is at the root of which may be called the ‘complaint hobby.’” Find out how to break the complaining habit in this short audio podcast.
Topic references:
MOTIONLESS SITTING
… control of restlessness and agitation through determined motionless sitting
Mental Health Through Will Training, chapter 41, Sabotage Method No. 9: Failure to Practice Muscle Control, page 327 in the 3rd edition
For a detailed description see Manage Your Fears, Manage Your Anger, lecture 56, There Is No Hopeless Case (part 2), pages 352-353
HABITS
Everything that is done a few times is no habit yet. And without habits, he will continually fall back into his old ways, and the old ways are not good. His old ways are not good. And so I am partial to the subject of training…
Manage Your Fears, Manage Your Anger, Frustrations, Training and Habits, lecture 35, page 218
IMBALANCE
Everybody is pessimistic and optimistic at the same time. In the ordinary mature person, the two views are so balanced that optimism outstrips pessimism. … It is in the very nature of human habits that they range themselves in pairs, the one member of which is antagonistic to the other. … Before Frances and Regina came to consult me, they lived a life of balance in which the positive trends outweighed their negative antagonists. After they drifted into their depressions, the negative features took the lead and dominated their habit structures. They became extreme in their reactions and lost their balance.
Mental Health Through Will Training, Helplessness Is Not Hopelessness, Chapter 7, pages 98-99 in the 1997 edition
COMPLAINING
… this ceaseless recounting of experiences is at the root of what may be called the "complaint hobby." My patients are generally addicted to this hobby, and Mona, in her pre-Recovery days, was one of its devotees.
Mental Health Through Will Training, Intellectual Validity and Romantic Vitality, chapter 15, page 160 in the 1997 edition