You're a Hard Habit to Break - Rock Star Parking - One Space Away From a Handicap Space

Habits - they can be good or bad.  Habits are formed. They strengthen with recurrence and become a part of our routines.  I don't even think about it anymore. I get out of bed, go downstairs and head directly to the coffee pot. It's part of my daily routine and a ritual that offers me familiar comfort. However, I didn't always drink coffee.  My coffee habit began when I was 26 years old.  I worked for attorneys and there was always fresh coffee brewing.  The aroma drew me in and I eventually acquired a taste for it. The rest is history.
New habits can easily be formed while old habits are very difficult to break.  Coincidentally, forming a new "good" habit can automatically replace an old "not-so-good" habit.  Unfortunately, the reverse also applies.
""Yeah baby!" Exclaims my husband, as he scores a "rock star" parking space at the mall.  We just parked in the best space there is - the first space after the handicap spaces. Lucky us! Is this a habit or the norm for us? Do we typically drive around for 10 minutes searching for what I refer to it as: the ultimate spot?
I can only speak for myself. Unless I'm obligated to be somewhere in a big hurry, I try to park a little further away - saving the rock star space for someone who needs it more: the woman who is in her 9th month of pregnancy with  a 2 year-old, snuggly buckled into his car seat.  She really needs the spot more than I do. I know - I've been there.  At 5 feet 2 inches tall, when I was carrying my baby in the last trimester, I could barely move and hardly breath trying to holiday shop. That's as close to handicapped as I ever want to be.
Parking a little further away is an opportunity for me to walk a little more and burn a few extra calories. They really do add up and it's a habit I intend to stick with as long as my health and body cooperate with my mindset.
I love a good competition. I have worn a pedometer in the past.  I would try to walk more than I did the day before. Wearing it gave me an awareness of just how many steps I took per day. I found little ways to increase the number of steps each day by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking a walk at lunch or parking a little further away.
Always scoring a rock star parking space is a bad habit.  Not only does it take away spaces from  people who need them, it keeps you from getting in those extra steps.  Obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes all can be avoided and/or controlled by diet and exercise. So ask yourself, "Is it my goal to one day have that blue permit dangle from my rear view mirror?"
Start your holiday wish list now and put a pedometer and a new pair of walking shoes at the top of your list. Or, if the budget allows, treat yourself to them now and start a new good habit today. Somewhere out there a pregnant woman is grateful for the parking space closest to the mall. She is the true rock star!