Do habits help?

Dostoevsky’s observation that “The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half," set me to thinking about how we go about living. By and large, most everything we do is an expression of a habit. Many of us sleep in on Saturday because we’ve always slept in on Saturday. We have an early cup of coffee and get ready to watch a game (doesn't everybody?). We are truly creatures of habit. It is a comfortable way to live and involves little or no conscious thought. 
       But are habits good? In what way do they aid us in our progress toward life's goal? Why is it that good habits have to be formed but we simply fall into bad habits? A lot of questions can be raised on the subject.
       Obviously, some habits are good, they help us get where we want to be. If physical wellbeing is a goal, then regular exercise and a proper diet are habits that help us get there. If we have always gone to the gym three times a week, then we don't have to ponder the question when the time arrives. Habit is a faithful friend who helps us toward our goal. But it is equally true that some habits work against our best interests. In fact, they are unusually powerful in denying us our goals. As the old saying goes, "Habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into but hard to get out of.”
       It has often been observed that character is the sum total of our habits. The sequence runs like this: What we think we say; what we say we do; what we do becomes habit, and this shapes our character and determines our destiny. To the extent this is true, and I believe it is, habit is perhaps the crucial element in the formation of character. Good habits are powerful agents toward a desirable end, but bad habits are equally powerful in preventing it.
       This being true, the role of "what we always do" requires our attention. What is it that I always do that helps and what do I always do that hinders? If l can determine that, I can readjust my life toward the more desirable goals. And the sooner I do it the better, because, as the Chinese proverb has it, "Habits are cobwebs at first; cables at last.” To develop a profitable habit, one must genuinely want to. Desires unable to move us to action are useless at best. Effective desire does what is required to realize its aspirations. So the question is up to the individual, do I care enough about what I want, to establish a pattern that will take me there? If not, forget it. 
       It is interesting that habit makes the task easier. Rather than being an endless responsibility to do the right thing, it becomes a way of living that provides its own motivation. So here's to custom in life! One might even call it conservatism. But let's be careful that the things we do by habit are taking us where we want to go.