Steal the Little Things

littlethingsfeature

I've realized over the past few years that I am a highly adaptable person. I'm not sure how I turned into this person since I distinctly remember being a nightmarish, stubborn goblin as a small child. But I have to believe this started early because I know I started to steal little things from people as early as age nine.

I don't mean stealing material things (although my collection of different post-its was BOMB), I mean stealing little habits or tricks that I thought would make my life better. For example, the earliest memory I have of this is seeing a girl in one of my classes in fourth grade write a capital letter 'E'. Up until that point, I had written it using one vertical line and then tacking on three horizontal lines one by one. But this girl (S/O to Emily Yuill) wrote hers as if it were a backwards three. I suppose this is also the cursive way to write it, but at that moment it seemed so fluid - one motion, smooth and unique. I decided I liked it, and I've written my E's that way ever since.

Although that's the earliest example I have, I can remember adapting all sorts of things - especially when it comes to ways of speaking and certain phrases. It's been very helpful when I'm in a new environment to sound as alike to others as possible. I've become rather good at mimicking cadences of speaking and picking up common phrases in certain circles whether it's a foreign country or a work environment. While this is helpful in my day to day life, I end up sounding quite strange when I'm speaking casually since my style has now become an amalgamation of many.

This also might be the reason I am obsessed with the daily routines of pretty much anyone. Those morning routine videos on youtube are like crack to me (a close second are packing videos). I am constantly searching for little tiny things that I think are more efficient or more helpful that I can add to my life. And it's worked quite well for me, pretty much everything from my morning routine, speaking style, travel habits, and work behavior is a collection of tiny things I've noticed on others, adapted to myself.

I suppose this systematic collection of behaviors is basically what growing up is, but I've always been pretty aware of it. As soon as I see something I like, I immediately switch over to it to try it out. Not everything works though. For example, cold morning showers - HELL NO. I've tried a lot of things, sometimes too many things at once, and now I've amassed a whole swath of habits that I can trace back to a specific person, article, or video I've encountered.This cultivation of activity is something that I've realized I love doing. I love looking for things that improve my life and recognizing them in others. Are there any behaviors you've adapted over the years? Think about it for a quick sec and see what things you do now that may have been appropriated from friends or family. You'd be surprised what you've collected.