I am sick and tired of the selfishness constantly displayed by some people: Here are some examples.

• A lady claims to be disabled. The licenses on her three vehicles say so. She has two mobile homes, six dogs and walks for miles without apparent disability. She goes into people’s yards and takes water from outside taps. She searches trash cans for bottles. She boasts she can park as long as she likes because she is disabled.

  Although she does not pay taxes, she believes it is acceptable to leave dog poop and human waste in bags outside her mobile home. If anyone tries to move her, she calls the cops. Once she falsely accused a neighbor of attacking her. Nothing had happened. It was her way of getting back at neighbors who do not want her there. She laughs because right is on her side. She does not care that her two mobile homes are a blight on the neighborhood. She upsets and scares many of our older residents when she parks and refuses to move.

• A lady at a gas station — where I was filling up — continued a phone conversation even though signs expressly forbade the practice. Static from the phone can ignite gas fumes, causing an explosion. I asked her to get off the phone. She was endangering all of our lives. In response, she turned her back, ignoring me.

I have written before of how people continually do things by rote. They do not think about what they are doing. These types tend to become narcissistic, selfish, rude, even argumentative.

Another by-rote example is drivers.

We drive in a state of hypnosis. Most people do not remember how they reached their destination. They just arrived.

Do every daily act slightly differently. This will keep you alert. Change your routines. Change small habits here and there.

Alter the way you drive to work. Changing routes increases alertness.

Is There No End? No

Try this. Count how much you do by rote. Once you capture a good idea, make the changes. Generally it takes 21 days to create a new habit. Once learned, change again. When a pattern is established, keep going.

The way you make changes reflects how you manage your life.

• A 56-year-old businessman had a problem with authority figures. Under all circumstances, he refused to cooperate.

  I asked him to put his keys in a new place in his home. Same spot every time. The first two days, he dropped his keys in their old location. He had to go back and put them in his newly nominated place. Day Three, after plunking his keys in their old spot, he refused to retrieve them.

  When I pointed out that he again was bucking authority, his jaw dropped. Suddenly he realized what he had done. That was the beginning of the change he was looking for. It was the final time he had trouble with authority.

Dear reader, think about how your actions affect others. Be courteous while breaking up long-established routines..

In an optician’s office the other day, I was surprised by everyone’s friendliness. Then I noticed a sign behind the counter:

“Be Nice.”

Do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net