Some time ago, when I lived in the city, I had a realization. One ugly morning, I slugged myself out of bed and out of my mom's small condo. I lived next to a mall and generally, that was my first stop for some fresh air and fresh faces. The mall was just opening and so I decided to approach and engage a fresh coffee shop just to the right of the entrance to the mall. I gave myself the usual pep talk as I walked through the double doors and slammed the joint down for some laughs. I got what I wanted; people were laughing with me and shooting stories back and forth. I had made a better morning for a pair of baristas better than a double double could ever do.

Let's skip ahead a few days. The same situation arose: I slugged myself out of bed, hit a cold shower, threw on a cotton t- and some jeans from the night before and pressed the down button at the elevator. The only difference was I was feeling like shit, and not like I just had a long night shit, but actually the depressed shit. I found myself in the mall again and was instantly greeted by the same baristas that I had engaged only a few days ago. Suddenly, my day felt better. The coffee tasted better, the sun felt warmer, and I had more success than I did on other days.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote "Do the thing and you will have the power." As vague as the quote sounds, this quote fits my story quite nicely. Through exposing myself to the raw energies of the world and of the harsh morning environment, I was able to rise above it. By giving out some of my strength to an unfamiliar scene - a coffee shop I had never been to - I had tossed out a bit of my own power. Thankfully, the energy I left out there was returned to me when I needed it most - when I was having a shitty day.

But you came here for me to address a problem in your life, didn't you? That problem is that you find yourself returning to old habits. Little did you probably know, I already hit that very problem with my story.

The issue isn't us returning to our old habits so much as it is us returning to familiar environments that have bred old habits in us. There are many studies that show that returning to comfortable environments will return you to behaviors which have been perceived as relevant to that particular environment. In other words, the comfort zone lies in the physical zone of comfort.

Many artists of this trade recommend moving out of your parents house ASAP. I wonder why? Mystery suggested frequenting uncomfortable places to make yourself comfortable with them. Professional speakers often walk around stage hours before even delivering a presentation just to get a feel for the stage itself and the podium where they'll be standing.

At this point, I could offer the solution of moving out of your parents house, taking vacations every 2 months, etc. etc. However, there are a lot of young individuals on here and I think that solution would be too extreme for them. The solution I am willing to offer, however, can relate entirely back to my original story. Make yourself comfortable with the environment you've set yourself in, even if it's the first time. Chances are, the excitement will be returned to you when you need it. Not only that but you can't expect to build any good habits if you feel like you're unwanted in places. It's really important to feel wanted and to make yourself feel wanted.

Do the thing and you will have the power. But they that do not do the thing have not the power.