Tag: habits

*And Turn Left At Albuquerque

The best way, they say,
To be healthy today
Is to backtrack two weeks
And start making some tweaks–
Not a lot, one or two–
That will benefit you
About fourteen days hence,
But time travel’s expense
And its ethics are tricky
(Plus, Morlocks are icky),
And this takes less money:
Pretend you’re a bunny!
A fortnight from now
You’ll be hoppier. How?

Get outside. Eat some carrots,
A beet if you dare. It’s
Unlikely to hurt
(Though some beets taste like dirt).
Small changes, but there’s
A good chance, as with hares,
That the clan multiplies:
From a couple…surprise!
You’ll enjoy them so much
Soon you’ll need a new hutch
‘Cause through self-reinforcement
What started as chores went
From hassle to habit.
So be like a rabbit.*

Cross Your Legs And Do A Dance

A childhood habit to counter-intuit:
When bathrooms are handy, you pee, right?
Don’t do it!
Anticipatorily voiding your bladder
Could cost you control when withholding might matter.
The logic was sound — just in case — but in practice
Your body gets used to too much prophylaxis
And learns to send signals of pending emergence
Before it’s developed a need for such urgence,
Which then may precipitate key muscle atrophy
Leading, potentially, to wee catastrophe.
All of which means, when your mom says, “Just try!”
You may choose to refuse, and explain to her why.