[beat]

I don't think of hitting the strings hard as a "bad habit" in and of itself. Being able to play with a broad dynamic range is very useful, but not necessary to have fun and make good music.

I remember seeing a Paul Gilbert instruction video a while back where he talked about the importance of being able to play a single note, while hitting it with a full on rock and roll windmill arms technique. This is mostly a matter of muting the other five strings effectively. But hitting a note like you mean it really matters.