Just before I moved to Melbourne I had drinks with a girl that I went to high school with. We used to be really close, so it was lovely catching up with her. Mid conversation she made a disgusted face and said ‘Ew… oh my god… I can’t believe you’re still doing that!‘
I had cracked my knuckles. And I didn’t even realise I’d done it. Clearly I’ve been doing this for a really long time. It was at least 12 years since I’d seen her. That’s a long time to cluelessly harbour a bad habit. Obviously I know that I do it, but I’ve kind of tuned it out now.
I thought I’d compile a little list of bad habits that I’ve never even fantastised about quitting because, I can’t. They are ingrained in my DNA. Like my curly hair and perpetually itchy nose. However if a Bad Habit Fairy could wave her magic wand, these are the habits I’d want her to take.
Cracking Bones
I used to dance in high school and there’s nothing dancers love more than cracking. It’s like… crack. I crack my neck, I crack my back, I crack my ankles and toes and I crack my fingers. Say crack again. Crack.
Afternoon Snacking
I cannot say no to any food item between the hours of 3pm and 5pm. I’ll happily skip dinner or have a light lunch but I must be consuming food steadily for this entire period of time.
Leaving Perishables Out of The Fridge
Every day. But strangely, only in the morning. I think hunger over rides logic at this time of day.
Squeezing Pimples
Can’t stop. I’m very blessed to have never had that many to play with in my life but believe me, when I’ve got them, I savour them. Like Reece’s Peanut cups that your friend brought back from America. I’m also prone to asking other people if I can squeeze theirs. Apparently this is not okay.
Not Drying Myself After a Shower
I just don’t see the point. I’m going to end up dry eventually, so why force it? I throw a terry cloth robe on after a shower and let the air do its work.
What about you? What bad habits would you like the Bad Habit Fairy to take from you?
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22 Comments
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Swearing. I have a really foul mouth and while when I was younger I used to take pride in this. Now, as an adult I am really embarrassed about all of the “f*ck” ‘s” and “sh*t” ‘s” I drop into conversation! I realize that it makes me look like a complete and utter bogan but I find it hard to stop.
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Urgh! Me too! I hate how much I swear.
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Zit popping is delicious. My boyfriend has been gone for 8 weeks and just returned home today and I was HORRIBLY disappointed that he brought nary a pimple with him. Sigh.
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Picking at the food I’m cooking. Sometimes I swear I’ve eaten a whole meal before I sit down at the table to eat the final product. Oh, and eating the left overs off my kid’s plate. Yep…just eating, and eating, and eating…can’t stop…*burp*.
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I’m a terrible nail biter (its a nervous thing) but this kind of works out okay as playing violin you aren’t allowed any nails anyway…it’s when I run out of nails & start on my cuticles that its bad. Vikki x
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It’s the same for me with being a jeweller! 🙂
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I can never resist digging out ingrown hairs – I get some sort of demented joy out of it. But i shake my head at your leaving stuff out of the fridge… it’s one of my biggest pet peeves EVER. When I lived with my ex he used to do it every morning and I would always be left with warm, slightly sour milk for my cereal.
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In grown hairs are awesome.
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Picking my scalp. It doesn’t itch, it’s just a compulsive thing that I do when my hands aren’t occupied. It makes my hair flaky and oily. BUT I CAN’T SEEM TO STOP.
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Never heard of that one. Nice. 🙂
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Um cracking my knuckles – do that all the time.
Other bad habits – I have been known to scratch the side of my big toes on the ducted heating vents but only in Winter. Apparently that was tinea lol.
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I used to dance too so I get what you mean about all the cracking. I crack my knuckles ALL the time and my best friend HATES it. She says it makes her nauseous.
I used to bite my nails a lot, but one day I just decided to quit, and I did. Now I have lovely long nails xD
I used to snack a lot too, but since I’ve started planning my meals out I’ve cut that out. I have a small 100-cal snack at about 5pm and that’s that.
But I totally feel you on the pimple-popping. I know it’s wrong but it’s just so very tempting. I’m also really bad with scab picking. Once I had to have stitches in my foot and when they scabbed over it was all I could do to keep from peeling them off.
And the itchy nose thing. What is that?! I get that so often and it’s so, so, so annoying! I’m scared people think I’m a cokehead because I’m forever scratching my nose!
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Totally have to start on the one 100 calories snack. Love it.
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Where does one start? There’s pimple popping (still enormously satisfying in your ’30’s), swearing like a sailor, wasting fresh food (particularly fresh fruit), complaining about first world problems (see all previous) and hating one’s self for no good reason.
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I basically bit my nails for most of my life. It drove my mother mad and she would often tell me my fingers looked ugly that way. I stopped doing it a couple of years ago because I started really getting into nail polish. Not because of the whole “won’t bite your nails while they’re painted because it’ll taste bad” thing or the ” not biting your nails while they’re painted because it will ruin the look”. No, neither of those things stopped me when I was growing up and wearing $2 chemist black polish. I guess I figured if I were going to spend my money on polish as much as I was, I might as well have them look nice. Now don’t get me wrong, I find long nails strange on me, I just have those short, blunt nails. But they still look better without the bleeding, hang-nailed stumpyness I used to sport.
I guess apologising too much would also be considered a bad habit I have. People tell me all the time, but it just becomes more like a nervous tick the more they point it out.
I used to be super duper into scab picking until I developed an anxiety about infection and nipped that one in the bud really fast.
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I LOVE scab picking. But I hate sunburn picking.
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I’m totally on board with the pimple-squeezing and bone-cracking. I’m a fiend for both of those things and I do wish that I could stop.
I’m also really bad with overusing the word, ‘like’ when I’m talking. I’m always, like, using it to fill in gaps when I , like, need a moment to think of the next thing I’m going to say.
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Me too! I sound like SUCH a dipshit.
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Picking the skin around my nails. Makes me fingers look messy and I don’t think it’s a hot quality.
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This one fascinates me because it hurts. I have a friend who does it and I can’t understand why.
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I love pimple popping, I take great relish in savouring mine until they’re good and ready-it’s immensely satisfying. I would pop my boyfriend’s more often, but he loathes it and finds it very weird that I do so! (He says it reminds him of a chimp grooming ritual)
Leaving laundry until I’m down to the last 2 pairs of clean underwear, which is a nightmare as I like wearing matching sets
compulsively checking email, social networking sites and blogs when on deadline
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Yes. Compulsive social networking is also one of my faults.
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