Right...............
Those habits can set in deep. Even now, on occasion, that lack of discipline has remnants. Yesterday I was recording some slow, mellow stuff. A small lead-like section needed fillin'. The first half was a very 'on-beat' and simple. Done deal. The second half was a little more melodic and floated above the beat a bit. Instead adding some float to the section...It just sounded disconnected.
This is where practicing those years with a metronome woulda been handy. Even your vibrato can wreck you. That's the 'bad' remnant. I have great vibrato. Smooth, sometimes nicely wide. But when you're givin' it a slow shake but varying the tempo during the bends, gotta be careful.
...well, ok...I was also was bent on playing the section in Amin in my head. Even though I knew it would work better in Maj. I just wanted that tension...guess what, it didn't need it.
Any new folks out there, take Ricks advice. It can haunt you for a long time. Even when you've practiced your way out of it and relearned your timing. It's gonna come back and bite you.