I love coffee. Like, really love it.

I’ll take it any way I can get it – Turkish, instant, french press, or iced. But there’s still nothing better than a hot cup in a ceramic mug. It’s for this reason that I typically opt to ditch my travel tumbler for a mug on my morning commute; it just tastes better. 

If you’ve ever ridden in my passenger seat, you’ve been greeted by a tumbling graveyard of ceramic as you open the door. I have this terrible habit of finishing my morning coffee, setting the mug on my passenger seat, and not bringing it in at the end of the day.

It makes no sense.

Every time I see that pile of mugs I think to myself: “Self – is it really that hard to carry in one mug a day?” But, I’m tired at the end of the day with my mind reeling with push notifications, excitement to relax, and a full DVR. At the end of a couple weeks my car looks more like the dish pit at a greasy spoon diner than a vehicle.

What’s your coffee mug?

I know that if I bring them in everyday life would feel just a tad less chaotic, that I wouldn’t feel embarrassed when I give people rides, and we wouldn’t need to implement mug-rationing at home. But, as we see everyday, it is pretty difficult to build new habits – no matter how seemingly insignificant.

So, what is your metaphorical coffee mug? What is that one small hurdle that you’re constantly coming up against to achieve your goals? Maybe it’s a simple as eating breakfast or laying out workout clothes.

One thing is certain – you’ll never be able to intellectualize your coffee mug. I’ll never be able to identify the reason or strategy behind my stupid little quirk. But I can develop habit.