When my time at ABC was over, I missed the people. I missed the paycheck
and the familiar place and the autopilot of how each of my days began.
And when certain times of year rolled around, I realized that I missed
all sorts of things that had become habit--the Christmas gag reel in
December, the frenzy of sweeps shows in May, the preparing of expanded credit rolls in November for the shows
that would air over Christmas and New Year's. It's hard to see habits
die. The habits in our lives give us a solid footing. They remind us
where we've been. They let us know where we are and where we are going.
Today, however, as I walked across town with my son, in what has become a new Saturday
habit, I was struck by how good it felt to realize a new habit had
emerged. It's not that this is the first--there have been all sorts of
new habits over the last few years. But today, I was reminded that
sometimes, we can only discover new habits by letting go of some of the
old ones. If I were still racing to work at the crack of dawn, I would
never have been able to have the coffee conversations I've had. If I
were still consumed with just one genre or form of production, I would
never have been exposed to the others that have expanded my mind and my
skill set. If I were still walking the same path each day, I might never
have discovered new paths and different kinds of time for myself and with my kids.
It's hard to give up things that have become habits. It can be scary to
make new habits and new traditions, and sad to see times pass without
the habits we expect during those times. But if we allow ourselves to
break a habit here and there, we may find not only a good set of new
habits, but a whole new way to think, and some new and exciting ways to live.
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