BAD HABITS

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One of the toughest things for the Rhino to let go of is bad habits. They provide there own pleasure that creates its only rationalization for continuing.


Quitting smoking was a matter of money. I was up to a pack and half a day. When I got out of bed, cigarette. Every 20 minutes the urge for a cigarette was calling. Sometimes I might think, "you need to quit it makes you feel weak and you spend a good chunk of money on the habit. Finally after much resolve one morning I handed my last four cigarettes to my roommate and went cold turkey. While the physical craving left in about two days the psychological need was with me for a couple of weeks. For about two years there was a realization of the habit and its social pattern. After two years I stopped dreaming about smoking and now do not even see it as part of my life.


Recently beer has become this type of annoying habit. My average consumption is two or three a night. This is not a large amount but it has a cost and often can de-motivate and make the Rhino lazy. One of the hardest parts of stopping beer drinking is out in the clubs. When you go to a show or play music the expectation is that you are in a club to drink liquor. It feels unusual to me to order a coke or other soft drink.


Some people I know in the music profession have difficulty controlling the urge to drink. Alcohol is easily available to musicians and is a part of the environment they work in. Boredom, stage fright, and being social, can encourage the Rhino to drink. The problem seems to be when it is done repetitively. Soon, like smoking, drinking is part of the person and is a habit.


Like smoking, the Rhino has worked to cut back or quit drinking and has created kind of a stop- start behavior. The goal is to break the habit. Weather abstinence or cutting back, the Rhino is a much more productive animal when he does not drink beer on a regular basis. How bout you?