On my way home from the courthouse yesterday—where I got my summons reprinted and was promptly told I wasn’t needed—I decided to take advantage of being out and about to run a few errands.
One of those errands was stopping by my doctor’s office to follow up on some recent tests and refill a couple of prescriptions.
Since getting an appointment there is like pulling teeth—their main phone number rarely gets answered and messages almost never get returned—I’ve decided I am officially a walk-in patient from now on. I’ll make follow-up appointments in person, but otherwise…I’m done with their call center and phone tree bullshit.
While I knew I’d have to wait, I didn’t consider that my doctor might have the day off. Oops. Lucky for me, the front desk suggested I see another doctor, which felt mildly annoying but still better than waiting weeks for an appointment. So I sat. And waited. And eventually got called in.
What I expected to be a routine check-in and follow-up turned into a heart-to-heart conversation with a smart, thoughtful doctor about the habits that help us, the habits that hurt us, and the habits we like to pretend aren’t habits at all. Even though deep down, we all know better.
The timing of this conversation couldn’t have been better, because I started reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg over the weekend. The book breaks down habits into three parts—cue, routine, reward—and shows how much of our daily lives run on autopilot.
As the doctor and I talked, I started to see my own habits more clearly. Some of them genuinely support me. Others quietly trip me up. And a few do both at the same time, depending on the day and my mood.
Take my phone, for instance. The cue is waking up, that moment between dreaming and daylight. The routine is reaching for it before my eyes even learn to focus. And the reward is anyone’s guess: A flicker of distraction? A dose of dopamine? A momentary escape from whatever is waiting for me that day?
The same goes with skipping breakfast: Caffeine is a quicker route to feeling more ready for the world. Or slipping down digital rabbit holes whenever I feel anxious.
Little loops. Little patterns. Tiny constellations of habits I trace without even thinking.
But there are some good loops, too. The habits I’ve built slowly and intentionally: early-morning drives, Studio Saturdays, eating something green at least once a day, checking in with my creative self before the world barges in. None of those were accidents. I created them. I repeated them. I helped them take root.
Talking to the doctor—and reading Duhigg’s reminders—helped me remember that habits aren’t moral judgments. They’re simply patterns. Patterns can be changed. They can be swapped out, adjusted, strengthened, or completely redesigned.
Which is good timing, because this chapter of life has shaken up all my routines like a snow globe. New apartment. New rhythms. New everything. I’ve let convenience pick too many of my habits lately instead of choosing the ones that actually help me feel grounded, focused, and human.
So here’s what I’m taking with me: no habit is too small to matter. And you don’t need a dramatic reinvention to start shifting things. One tiny change can create a new loop. One new loop can open a little space. And that space can build momentum.
As Duhigg says, habits aren’t destiny. They’re choices we practice.
So I’m practicing better ones. A few calmer mornings. A few healthier routines. A few kinder ways of being with myself. And maybe fewer habits that turn me into a gremlin morning, noon, and/or night.
Here’s to rebuilding routines that actually serve us, letting go of the ones that don’t, and remembering we can start fresh any time we want—today, tonight, tomorrow morning, or whenever we’re ready to nudge ourselves toward a life that feels a little lighter, a little clearer, and a whole lot more intentional.
Keep calm and habit on!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. If you’ve read The Power of Habit, feel free to send me your favorite takeaways. And if you haven’t, consider this your invitation. It’s already rewiring a few things in my brain, and I’m only a few chapters in.
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = NOVEMBER 18
BIRTHDAYS
1787 = Louis Daguerre = French artist, photographer and inventor
1836 = W. S. Gilbert = English playwright, poet, and illustrator
1872 = Edward Marsh = British polymath 🌈
1906 = Klaus Mann = German writer and critic 🌈
1908 = Imogene Coca = American actor, comedian, and singer
1909 = Johnny Mercer = American singer-songwriter, producer, and Capitol Records co-founder
1923 = Alan Shepard = American astronaut
1939 = Amanda Lear = Hong Kong-French singer-songwriter and actor
1939 = Brenda Vaccaro = American actor
1939 = Margaret Atwood = Canadian author
1942 = Linda Evans = American actor
1942 = Susan Sullivan = American actor
1944 = Jackie Goldberg = American politician and activist 🌈
1944 = Wolfgang Joop = German fashion designer 🌈
1947 = Jameson Parker = American actor
1952 = Delroy Lindo = English-American actor and director
1960 = Elizabeth Perkins = American actor
1960 = Kim Wilde = English singer-songwriter
1968 = Owen Wilson = American actor
1969 = Duncan Sheik = American singer-songwriter and composer
1970 = Mike Epps = American actor and comedian
1982 = Damon Wayans Jr. = American actor and comedian
1985 = Christian Siriano = American fashion designer 🌈
EVENTS
1928 = Steamboat Willie, the first synchronized sound cartoon, is released.
1963 = The first push-button telephone goes into service.
1983 = A Christmas Story is released in theaters.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19)
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You can wear whatever, be whatever, do whatever you want.”
Christian Siriano








Well, well Clint you mentioned Amanda Lear again, hell knows her true stats, hence her enigmas. https://youtu.be/7-R3GyWl4cE?si=a7iQVgUnPx9PE7Jf now another Muse and lover to some in her bright youthful start before the powder took a hold(BTW I hope that clip isn't a repost from me on here 😉)
An entertaining AI https://youtu.be/yOWAlz-JYKs?si=U2HwGhYDlgbvX6R0 and https://youtu.be/__kwKW1sxUE?si=5K1t1dU3xQPHYa3D Cheers DougT 🇫🇴🇬🇧
Clint, Here's to new habits! Fondly, Michael
P.S. I wrote this on "Routines": https://mhorvich.substack.com/p/new-older-age-routines-can-be-debilitating