Wednesday, March 24, 2010

hABiTs & RouTinEs

The first thing I do when I wake up is to comb my hair. The last thing I do before going to bed is to comb my hair. I wonder when I started doing that. The first thing I do in the shower is to shampoo my hair. The last thing I do in the shower is to rinse the conditioner off my hair. I wonder how I started doing that.

Whether it is through boredom or a heightened sense of awareness, I have been observing my self closely these couple of days. It strikes me as interesting, that I don’t know when or how I picked up most of the habits and routines that guide my daily life and living. And I refuse to believe that these habits are instinctual, in the way that cats and dogs instinctively scavenge for food when they are hungry.

When I was working in market research, trying to uncover the mysteries behind these auto-pilot habits was akin to a pilgrimage in search of the Holy Grail. Businesses think, rightly or wrongly, that understanding how consumers react and interact with their products and services would provide the key to increasing consumption and therefore profits, making the world a better place.

I hope the Grail is large enough that everyone can take a sip from it.
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