The Habit Swap

Swapping The Bad For The Good

We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that death will tremble to take us. - Charles Bukowski

I don’t live like that. Do you? I know Bukowski’s take on this might be a little different than how I interpret this quote but I don’t live my life so well that if death came for me right now he’d be like ‘I am so so sorry to have to do this Heida, but do you mind coming with me right now? Your time is kinda up and I sorta have to take you with me but I’m so sorry to inconvenience you, please don’t hate me!’. 

It wouldn’t go down like that.

Hi. I'm Heida Reed and I have bad habits.  I've been developing them extensively for decades now. Problem is, they're getting in the way of me being able to reach my full potential as a human being. 

Now, don’t get me wrong; I am very fortunate and grateful for having achieved some pretty cool things in my life and when it comes to my job as an actress I make sure I put the work in. But being an actor can also mean having quite a bit of free time. And way too much of mine is spent doing utter nonsense; like deciding to practice playing the piano but ending up purchasing a karaoke app and spending the entire evening trying to sound like Adele. Need to aim lower. Social media and the endless streaming services of today do not help this sworn TV and pizza addict either. There is just too much fun and pointless stuff that exists in the world to distract me from being healthy, creative and engaged in anything actually worth my time. Like why would I want to go on a run outside when I can spend my time inside, comparing my cellulite dimples to Kim Kardashian's.

I’ve always had this vision of my ideal life. It’s actually a very realistic picture; It’s simply a vision of myself where I use my free time well and constructively. For self improvement, for inspiration, for nurturing, enriching experiences. Not lying in bed scrolling through the Domino’s app wondering how much extra cheese is too much cheese. I wouldn’t know by the way, I haven't experience that yet.

I would really like to get closer to this ideal in reality and I think I can do it if I make an effort to change my habits for the better. So I've come up with a plan. A ‘habit swap’, if you will. A 12 month challenge. Each month I will tackle a bad habit I have and try to swap it out for a better one. Each challenge will last for 28 days. They say; I don’t know who, probably Buzzfeed, but they say it takes 28 days to form a new habit. I'm going to put that theory to the test. Once I’ve completed a challenge I will have to try and uphold my new and better habit whilst tackling another one every 28 days. If I am at all successful at this, in a years time, I might be able to call myself a slightly better person. Wouldn't that be nice. And maybe then, if death knocked at my door prematurely, I’d feel a bit prouder of who I’d become and march my ass fiercely to the grave. In my head, death is RuPaul in his finest gothic drag and he tells me to 'sashay away'. 

But look, pizza is a glorious thing. So is TV and so is bed. So are many other things I’ve made a habit of doing too much of. And that’s just it. Balance is a stranger. So is priority. I’d like us to get better acquainted. 

Why am I sharing this with you? Because frankly I don’t have the self discipline to do it otherwise. I’ve tried. This might not reach that many, but the fact that I know I'm putting it out there will give me the motivation I need to stay on track. And maybe, just maybe some of you will feel inspired to swap out your own bad habits for some good ones. There's a very good chance I'll muck this up. But if I do, you'll be here to witness it. Yay!

Stay tuned for my first swap of the year.

Wish me luck! I’ll need it.

H