Benny the Beaver Trades a Troublesome Habit
By Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller
Moral
of the Story
Bad habits are not who you are. They
are just patterns that can be changed. Every habit starts for a reason you can
learn to see. Replacing works better than trying to stop. Small changes
practiced daily grow strong. Mistakes do not erase progress. Trying again is how habits fade. You are always growing, learning, and becoming
better.
Benny the Beaver was known
throughout Brookbend Creek for being busy. Very busy.
He built dams.
He carried sticks.
He fixed leaks.
He worked hard from morning until night.
But Benny had one habit that caused
trouble.
Whenever Benny felt frustrated, he
snapped.
He snapped at his sister, Bella the
Beaver.
He snapped at Oliver the Otter.
He even snapped at himself.
“Why does this always happen?” Benny
would grumble when a stick slipped or a dam leaned the wrong way. His teeth
clacked. His tail slapped. His voice grew sharp.
Afterward, Benny always felt bad.
“I did not mean to snap,” he
whispered one evening as he sat alone near the water. “It just happens.”
The next morning, Benny visited
Willow the Wise Turtle, who had lived by the creek longer than anyone could
remember.
Willow listened carefully as Benny
explained his troublesome habit.
“I do not want to be snappy,” Benny
said. “But when things go wrong, it just comes out.”
Willow nodded slowly. “Benny,” she
said gently, “habits often show up when feelings get big.”
“Feelings?” Benny asked.
“Yes,” Willow replied. “Frustration
is knocking on the door. Snapping is how it has learned to enter.”
Benny thought about this. “So how do
I make it stop?”
Willow smiled. “You do not stop it,”
she said. “You trade it.”
“Trade it?” Benny asked.
“You replace the habit with a better
one,” Willow explained. “When the feeling comes, you give it a new job.”
That afternoon, Willow helped Benny
make a simple plan.
Whenever Benny felt frustrated, he
would stop and take three slow breaths.
Then he would say one calm sentence instead of snapping.
“That sounds too small,” Benny said.
“Small is how habits change,” Willow
replied.
The very next day, Benny had a
chance to practice.
A log slipped from the dam and
splashed loudly into the creek.
Benny felt it. The tight feeling in
his chest. The sharp words rushed up.
He almost snapped.
Then he remembered.
Benny closed his eyes. He breathed
in. One. Two. Three.
“This is tricky,” Benny said calmly.
“I can fix it.”
The habit did not disappear. But it
softened.
Later that day, Benny snapped again
when Bella bumped into his sticks.
Benny froze.
“I snapped,” he said quietly.
Bella smiled kindly. “You noticed,”
she said. “That matters.”
The next time frustration came,
Benny caught it faster.
Some days were easier than others.
Rainy days were hard. Tired days were hard. Busy days were hard.
But each time Benny replaced
snapping with breathing and calm words, the old habit grew weaker.
One evening, Oliver the Otter
watched Benny work.
“You did not snap,” Oliver said.
“You laughed.”
Benny blinked. He had not even
noticed.
Weeks passed.
Benny still felt frustrated
sometimes. But snapping no longer felt automatic. Breathing did.
Benny visited Willow again.
“My bad habit is shrinking,” Benny
said.
Willow smiled. “You did not fight
it,” she said. “You replaced it.”
That night, Benny looked at the calm
creek, his steady dam, and his peaceful heart.
“I am not my bad habit,” Benny said
softly. “I am the choices I practice.”
And with that, Benny carried on, one
calm breath at a time.
Moral
of the story poem:
A bad habit comes when feelings
grow.
But that does not mean it has to stay so.
Replace the habit, small and slow,
And practice kindness as you go.
Breathe instead of snapping tight.
Choose calm words, and do what is right.
Every try makes habits bend,
And better habits start to mend.
Discussion
Questions:
1.
What was Benny’s bad habit, and what
feeling caused it to appear?
2.
What new habit did Benny practice
instead of snapping?
3.
What is one habit you could gently
replace with a better choice?
New Year Habit Builder Worksheet
Small Actions. Repeated Daily. Big Change.
Name: ___________________________
Date: ___________________________
Step 1: Identify the Habit You Want to Build
One habit I want to develop this year is
Why this habit matters to my life, health, purpose, or future:
Step 2: Make the Habit Small and Repeatable
The daily version of this habit will be small enough to do even on my worst day.
My daily habit action:
Time of day I will do it:
Where I will do it:
Step 3: Attach It to an Existing Routine
I will do this habit immediately after I have already done the following:
This existing routine happens every day:
☐ Yes
☐ No. If not, choose a different anchor
Step 4: Anticipate Resistance
The most likely excuse or obstacle I will face:
What I will do instead of quitting when this happens:
Step 5: Create a Simple Reward
After completing my habit, I will acknowledge it by:
This reinforces the habit and tells my brain it matters.
Step 6: Track Consistency, Not Perfection
I commit to never missing two days in a row.
☐ I understand that missing once is human
☐ I understand that missing twice creates a new habit
Tracking method I will use:
☐ Calendar
☐ Notebook
☐ App
☐ Other: ___________________________
Breaking a Habit That No Longer Serves Me
The habit I want to stop or replace:
What usually triggers it:
What I will replace it with instead:
What changes can I make to my environment to make the bad habit harder?
Identity Statement
Complete this sentence and read it daily.
“I am the kind of person who ____________________________________________.”
One Year From Now
If I stay consistent with this habit, my life one year from today will look like:
Final Commitment
I am not chasing motivation.
I am building a pattern.
I will show up daily, even when it feels small.
Signature: _______________________________
Date: _______________________________
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