Why break the habit of a lifetime?

I grew up in Kent and as they say, you can take the girl out of Kent, but you can’t take Kent out of the girl. Okay, I just made that up, but my point being that changing someone’s environment won’t necessarily mean that it will change their behaviour – and certainly not their habits.

We’ve all got habits – some irritating, some endearing and some downright weird. The ones I’ve managed to kick are smoking, drinking (yes, really) and eating red meat (mostly), while the ones that remain include obsessive use of my iPhone, fussing over hygiene and time-keeping and being partial to ‘Pic n’ Mix’ sweets. In the scheme of things, they’re not bad – although those who live with me will probably disagree.

On the other hand, I get easily annoyed by other people’s habits, particularly those that involve quick repetition and making some sort of noise. I’ll be sitting on the train for the morning commute and they always be someone who has the disgusting snorting habit. I have been known to make big hints by offering people tissues when they continually snort.

Then there’s my lovely Mr Wright, who has the habit of always moving – it might be his legs twitching while he’s sitting down, scratching his head or biting his nails. In fact, I’ve never known him to sit completely still for more than 2 minutes. And it really is quite annoying.

I’m sure he’d say my habits are equally as annoying, but then again he doesn’t seem to point them out – probably because he’s a lot more laid back than I am. Hey ho.

What’s interesting is observing people’s habits while they’re on holiday. Out of curiosity, I asked my friends and family (a) what they think Brits’ habits are, and (b) what winds them up about other people’s habits while on holiday. And here’s the results…

The top 3 habits Brits are guilty of:

• We have a bad name when it comes to the amount of alcohol we consume.
• Our foolish behaviour goes hand in hand with being drunk.
• Our ‘fly and flop’ lifestyle when we go on holiday, thinking a tan is more important than immersing ourselves in local culture or exploring.

The top 3 annoying habits of others abroad:

• People not queuing. In fact, no one seems to queue apart from the British.
• Other holidaymakers reserving spots – sunbeds with towels, bar tables with their bags/clothing and seats on public transport.
• The lack of organisation when it comes to putting together a tour or an event – or just explaining what is happening. This probably has a lot to do with language barriers and the fact that many European countries adopt a more laid back ‘it will get done sometime’ attitude.

I think we’ve got the balance just right while on holiday. We’ll allow some days to flop at the beach while the kids build sandcastles and swim in the sea, but we’ll balance it out with days out to explore. After all, what’s the point in being abroad if you can’t actually experience the real destination?

The best means of doing this is by hiring a car, which we’ll always aim to do – even if it’s just for a few days. But planning is the key when it comes to driving abroad, otherwise you’ll waste time wondering where to go and what to do. So my advice is definitely do your homework before you travel.

We also try to learn a few local phrases before we go; it seems Brits have got a bad name for ourselves in expecting everyone to speak English, so it’s nice to surprise the locals when you can say a few phrases – they really like that.

We’ll always stick to our ‘British decorum’ ways – and because of that, you’re usually able to spot a Brit a mile off – and not just because of our pasty white legs. We’ll queue at the bar, we won’t lay claim to a particular sunbed on a daily basis and we’re always polite.

Of course, this doesn’t always work in our favour – especially when you find yourself the last to be served at the bar when everyone else is elbowing each other out of the way and shouting the loudest.

Last but not least, the one thing I moan about the most while on holiday? Being too hot. It appears I’ve got my mum’s genes in that I’m only ever comfortable when the temperature is within a couple of degrees either side of 15°C. Mind you, I wouldn’t be a true Brit is I didn’t moan about the weather, would I?

Auto Europe has come up a great infographic that details how Brits spend their time on holiday. The car rental wholesale company polled nearly 2,000 Brits to discover a few of our ‘die hard’ habits – see if you recognise yourself amongst any of them!

Other results from the survey found that…

• We get lost 3 times and then ask for directions
• We have 4 arguments with our partner
• We moan 8 times about being too hot
• 31% of us get intimate while away
• We consume 56 alcoholic drinks
• 4 in 10 of us don’t watch what we eat

Looks like I’m not the only one moaning about the heat, oh and having arguments and getting lost….and come to think of it…over-eating, gadget use, reading…