Interesting British customs and habits

HABIT A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up
CUSTOM a habitual practice; the usual way of acting in given circumstances
How Long to Form a Habit?
SAY you want to create a new habit, whether its taking more exercise, eating more healthily or
writing a blog post every day, how often does it need to be performed before it no longer
requires Herculean self-control?
Clearly its going to depend on the type of habit youre trying to form and how single-minded
you are in pursuing your goal. But are there any general guidelines for how long it takes before
behaviours become automatic?
Doing without thinking
Now, however, there is some psychological research on this question in a paper recently
published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Phillippa Lally and colleagues from
University College London recruited 96 people who were interested in forming a new habit such
as eating a piece of fruit with lunch or doing a 15 minute run each day Lally et al. (2009).
Participants were then asked daily how automatic their chosen behaviours felt. These questions
included things like whether the behaviour was hard not to do and could be done without
thinking.
When the researchers examined the different habits, many of the participants showed a curved
relationship between practice and automaticity of the form depicted below (solid line). On
average a plateau in automaticity was reached after 66 days. In other words it had become as
much of a habit as it was ever going to become.

This graph shows that early practice was rewarded with greater increases in automaticity and
gains tailed off as participants reached their maximum automaticity for that behaviour.
Although the average was 66 days, there was marked variation in how long habits took to form,
anywhere from 18 days up to 254 days in the habits examined in this study. As youd imagine,
drinking a daily glass of water became automatic very quickly but doing 50 sit-ups before
breakfast required more dedication (above, dotted lines). The researchers also noted that:
Missing a single day did not reduce the chance of forming a habit.
A sub-group took much longer than the others to form their habits, perhaps suggesting
some people are habit-resistant.
Other types of habits may well take much longer.

About English culture and habits
England is a country with a widely-recognized cultural identity. Whenever anything such as tea or fish
and chips are mentioned, the standard response is to think of England and its people. However, English
culture and habits, like the country itself, contain a mixture of the traditional and the newly-developed,
and the following are just a few of the cultural characteristics of the English populace. It's important to
note that, when we speak about England and its culture, this pertains only to England, and not to the
other constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish customs and
identity are quite different, despite the fact that Britain is often identified as "England" in the worldwide
media.
The first thing to note about English culture today is that it has been heavily influenced by the
large number of foreign customs it has incorporated into its society. Britain in general has been,
for the recent past, an extremely multicultural place to be, with a variety of people of different
ethnic origins contributing to its overarching identity. As an example of this, the curry dish
Chicken Tikka Masala has been proclaimed by many as a British national dish, and this is as true
of England as the other countries in Britain. It has an inclusive, conglomerate nature and this is
one of its great strengths as a nation.
English manners are a well-known part of English identity, and this is one of those rare
stereotypes that is absolutely true. Observing social etiquette is extremely important in English
society, and politeness is the foundation upon which that is based. Obviously, saying "please",
"thank you" and "excuse me" are expected of you all the time, as well as observing social rules
such as queuing in an orderly fashion. A standard custom is allowing certain members of society
(for example, pregnant women, the elderly and infirm) to go ahead of you in a queue or to have
your seat on the bus or train. Additionally, it is considered impolite in the extreme to comment or
intervene in other people's affairs, and an important thing to note is that England is a country
based on equality; in certain areas it is not unusual to see homosexuality displayed openly, and
women have as much freedom as men.
England's society works as independently of religion as is likely possible in modern society.
Freedom of expression and tolerance are promoted heavily, and no one religion defines
England's laws or customs any more than another. The law is held in the highest regard, and
England's laws and general cultural attitude are more progressive than many other places around
the world.




British Habits Americans Will Never Understand
Admit it: were a nation of oddballs whose conventions and mannerisms defy logic. Read on for
a rundown of our most bewildering traits.
1. Apologizing Unnecessarily
How often do you a Brit living in the U.S. auto-deliver a completely unnecessary, Sorry?
Im a 10-a-day gal. Sometimes, the American on the receiving end, instead of simply ignoring me
or looking confused, will ask: Why are you apologizing? Ive never given a satisfactory answer.
2. Forgetting to Eat
Often because weve indulged in point number two, Brits are terrible at remembering to feed
themselves at regular intervals. Food-focused types like myself will always check that a night out
is scheduled to include a meal stop; its never just assumed. Americans, meanwhile, make
brunch, lunch or dinner dates. All other activities, like drinking, are supplementary.
3. Thinking Tea Will Fix Everything
A brew is our go-to panacea. Whether youve chipped a nail, broken up with your boyfriend or
narrowly avoided being murdered, the first person on-scene will offer you a cuppa. This way,
they get to keep busy, feel useful and put off coming up with soothing, wise words.
4. Poor Communication Skills
Since living here, Ive noticed that Americans are much better at looking you in the face and
saying what they mean. Brits are abysmal at eye contact, telling you how they feel and what
theyd like to happen. We overuse phrases like, I think maybe and Perhaps we could just
5. Driving a Stick-shift on the Wrong Side of the Road
Im convinced that some Americans believe that driving on the left is an eccentric choice made
by individuals, not a rule laid down by British law. And while U.K. drivers think performing
maneuvers in manual cars is the height of masculinity, tell someone here you prefer a stick and
its like admitting you do laundry in the river.