Happy Sunday!  When I logged on this morning, I discovered that I had won the “define Heffaloftus” poll over at Renee Schuls-Jacobson’s fantastic blog.  Woohoo!  What a nice treat.  If you’re here visiting from Renee’s blog, welcome!  If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Renee’s always interesting and entertaining blog, hop on over and see what Lessons from Teachers and Twits is all about!

As you might have noticed (hardy har), Pesach is soon approaching.  As we discuss the narrative of our ancestors’ liberation from Egyptian bondage, we can also think about what is enslaving us, so to speak.  Which habits or behaviors are holding us back from actualizing our potential?  Each holiday on the Jewish calendar brings down a specific energy from the spiritual realm, making certain physical actions easier.  Pesach is known as “zman cheiroseinu,” the Time of Our Freedom.   Meaning, this is prime time to break free of negative behaviors and/or bad habits that have crept up on us.  I had a friend who used this time of year as an opportunity to stop biting her nails.

One habit that has been weighing heavily on my mind is my unproductive use of the internet.  I don’t know how many of you can relate to this, but I’ve developed an unfortunate groove of sitting down and logging on mindlessly.  I find myself frequently checking to see if anything “new” is happening.  New messages, new updates, new whatever.  I could be doing something productive  online (like writing a blog post), but I just spin my wheels.  Worse, when I’m egregiously unproductive, the guilt I feel for not doing my household duties is exponentially magnified.  It’s a yucky feeling.

Two weeks ago, our computer was out of the apartment from Friday until Monday.  Now, I don’t have one of those smart-phone thingies like all you hip kids, so no computer meant no at-home internet access.  For three-and-a-half days.

It was a great freebie.  I didn’t have to exert any willpower to change my bad habit because the object of my habit was simply removed.  This enabled me to take a more objective look at my routine, to stop and reflect on how I wanted to change.  Because I do want to change.  I recognized that I was stuck in a rut and I didn’t like being there, but inertia and lack of willpower (or maybe it was just fatigue, not an unreasonable assumption) was making it awfully hard to change the pattern.

Without the computer, I found myself having to find {gasp} other things to do around the house.  I got more housework done (no shocker there), read more, spent more time with my kids, got more exercise, went to sleep earlier.  It was amazing.  Now, I’m not about to get rid of the internet or anything, but this forced separation did allow me to get a glimpse of what my life could be like if I exerted just a little more self-control in this area.  If I took myself off the auto-pilot I was on.

So, you know how it is when you start paying attention to something in your life, and then all of a sudden it’s everywhere?  Yeah, that happened.  I was listening to a shiur last Friday, and the Rabbi quoted the Ramchal’s essay, Derech Etz Chaim.  He said that one of the most important things a person can do is to contemplate the actions in his (or her) life.  That to actively think about, to be conscious of what I am doing is a tremendous protection against making bad choices and actions.

Whoa, right?  Sign me up!  I’d like to be all contemplative and in-the-moment and be protected from bad decisions.

I’m stoked about changing my non-productive pattern.  Still, I’m realistic about the strength of ingrained habits, and I don’t expect to be instantly “cured” of my rote behavior.  That said, I certainly intend to harness the spiritual energy of this time of year to develop new habits to replace the old ones.  Practically, this means waiting to log on in the morning until after I’ve accomplished a certain amount of things, not logging on after Shabbos until I’ve picked up the toys and (somewhat) cleaned the dishes, etc.  Sometimes it could even mean just waiting five minute before going to the computer to check my email or Facebook page.  In those five minutes I’ve created a window to insert consciousness into an otherwise thoughtless action.

And on that note, I am off to do some dishes!

Here’s to freeing ourselves from bad habits!  Chag Sameach everyone!  Have a great Passover!

What would you like to free yourself from this year? 

You may also enjoy these:

• Torah Tuesdays:  What’s the purpose of life?
• Torah Tuesdays:  A Month of Introspection
• Using social media in a positive way, part one
• Torah Tuesdays:  Choose who you become