Change Your Habits – Transform Your Life
Roses are blue, violets are red, but bad habits are, like comfortable beds. They are very easy to get into, but they are very hard, to get out of. So I say to you, watch your thoughts, for they usually become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it will become your destiny. Not your authentic destiny, but your self made one. Bad habits can really disturb our destiny, from manifesting. Actually, many people have gone to their grave, with unfulfilled potentials, because of their bad habits. So as we can see, our bad habits go to go.
The problem is habits are almost automatic. So instead of choosing our best option, we tend to keep doing what we are used to them. And instead of stopping the habits, whenever we want, we are more likely to keep repeating the pattern, because of the controlling power of bad habit. But be rest assured, today you’re going to learn 3 simple steps that are going to help you, control any habits, as opposed to them controlling us. And these simple steps are called: Causation, Formation and Transformation.
So the first simple step I’m going to talk about: Causation, The meaning of causation is identifying what caused something to happen. What I mean by causation is identifying the root cause of a habit. There is usually no smoke without a fire. Causation is identifying patterns that trigger the habit. For instance, in whose company does the habit usually occur, what kind of thoughts triggers the habit, and how often does the habit occur daily. This will empower us to kick the habit.
Following this further, Dr Phil once famously says, we can’t change what we can’t acknowledge. Let’s face it, we all have bad habits. So to motivate ourselves to stop, ask yourself what your habits are stealing from you. Because habits are thieves, they can steal your time, your joy or your self confidence, among other things. For instance, a habit of negative self-talk can steals confidence, a habit of unhealthy eating can steals a positive self image, and a habit of laziness can steals future success.
In the same way, you didn’t form your habits in a day, so don’t expect to stop them in a day either. It’s going to take some time, some effort, and consistency. But you know you are worth it. So acknowledge that you have a habit, and start working on it today. Invariably, kicking a habit is not easy, but keeping the habit will cost you more. It will cost you your joy, your wellbeing and your freedom.
So the second simple step I’m going to talk about: Transformation.
Transformation is becoming the improved version of your self.But in order to transform yourself, you have to first change. But any change in life, without first changing the underlining bad habits, is just temporary. For instance, someone who has a low self esteem, and had a plastic surgery in order to feel better, about themselves, will only feel better for a short while, until they find something else they want to change. This is because they are trying to fix an internal problem, like low self esteem, with external measures. Without first changing the habitual pattern that led to a problem, the getting rid of the low self esteem is just, will just temporary.
It easy to see that, if you want something to change in your life, the changing the underlying habit starts with you. I mean we can’t keep doing the same thing, and expect a different result. 1+1 will always be 2. So, if we keep doing the same thing, we will always get the same result. But the good new is, research shows, it only takes 21 days to form a new habit, so start today.
On the other hand, our habits are usually triggered by what are called triggers. In fact, it is not life events that make you respond to life the way you do, but your triggers and your conditioning. For example, school children can be conditioned to being hungry by the school bell, shocking isn’t it. The truth is, anytime they hear the school bell for lunch, whether they were hungry or not, they become hungry instantly. But when they can avoid the exposure to the bell, which is the trigger, let’s say on school holidays, they would avoid the emotional hunger that the bell creates, after about 21 days of forming the new habit.
In the same way, identifying, avoiding and replacing any psychological triggers will empower us to kick the habit. This is known as positive feedback. Having said that, negative feedback can help you kick your habits, if it is your cup of tea. Negative feedback involves putting a rubber band on your wrist, so anytime you become tempted to do the habit, you snap the rubber band on your wrist. Ouch, I know which one I prefer. But seriously, negative feedback trains the mind to avoid a habit, in order to avoid the pain. But both negative and positive feedbacks work. And the choice is yours.
The third simple step I’m going to talk about: Formation.
Formation is act of forming something. But what I mean by formation is forming new good habits, to replace the bad ones, in order to change your life. Find something else to focus on to distract you from your habit. The devil uses idle hands. And our focus usually becomes our desire. Find something positive that will overshadow your habit, to desire. For example, someone who has a negative thinking habit, and decides to starve their negative thinking to death, with positive self talk. This will starve their habit to death, and they will end up developing, a new positive mindset.
Moreover, find a new hobby that helps you to maximize your strengths or a new hobby that helps you to develop new strengths. For instance, learning to play music, learning to write or learning to paint, are good diversions from any bad habit. These kinds of hobbies are also therapeutic. Besides that, beware of what I call the comfort zone syndrome. Because every time you step out of familiar a ground, that is your comfort zone, You will develop some anxieties, due to fear of the unknown. All you need to do is to keep talking your self out of the anxiety. Keep reminding yourself what have to gain, when you lose the habit. If you are consistent for about 21 days, you will lose the anxiety, and gain more confidence, about your ability to stay away from your unwanted habits.
So lastly, as Shaquille O’Neal famously said, you are what you repeatedly do. And I am saying to you, in order to become what you want, make a habit of doing only things that are becoming of you.
About the Author:
Tags: bad habit, violets, self confidence, Bad Habits, controlling power Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it will become your destiny. Not your authentic destiny, but your self made one. Bad habits can really disturb our destiny, from manifesting. Actually, many people have gone to their grave, with unfulfilled potentials, because of their bad habits. So as we can see, our bad habits go to go.
The problem is habits are almost automatic. So instead of choosing our best option, we tend to keep doing what we are used to them. And instead of stopping the habits, whenever we want, we are more likely to keep repeating the pattern, because of the controlling power of bad habit. But be rest assured, today you’re going to learn 3 simple steps that are going to help you, control any habits, as opposed to them controlling us. And these simple steps are called: Causation, Formation and Transformation.
So the first simple step I’m going to talk about: Causation, The meaning of causation is identifying what caused something to happen. What I mean by causation is identifying the root cause of a habit. There is usually no smoke without a fire. Causation is identifying patterns that trigger the habit. For instance, in whose company does the habit usually occur, what kind of thoughts triggers the habit, and how often does the habit occur daily. This will empower us to kick the habit.
Following this further, Dr Phil once famously says, we can’t change what we can’t acknowledge. Let’s face it, we all have bad habits. So to motivate ourselves to stop, ask yourself what your habits are stealing from you. Because habits are thieves, they can steal your time, your joy or your self confidence, among other things. For instance, a habit of negative self-talk can steals confidence, a habit of unhealthy eating can steals a positive self image, and a habit of laziness can steals future success.
In the same way, you didn’t form your habits in a day, so don’t expect to stop them in a day either. It’s going to take some time, some effort, and consistency. But you know you are worth it. So acknowledge that you have a habit, and start working on it today. Invariably, kicking a habit is not easy, but keeping the habit will cost you more. It will cost you your joy, your wellbeing and your freedom.
So the second simple step I’m going to talk about: Transformation.
Transformation is becoming the improved version of your self.But in order to transform yourself, you have to first change. But any change in life, without first changing the underlining bad habits, is just temporary. For instance, someone who has a low self esteem, and had a plastic surgery in order to feel better, about themselves, will only feel better for a short while, until they find something else they want to change. This is because they are trying to fix an internal problem, like low self esteem, with external measures. Without first changing the habitual pattern that led to a problem, the getting rid of the low self esteem is just, will just temporary.
It easy to see that, if you want something to change in your life, the changing the underlying habit starts with you. I mean we can’t keep doing the same thing, and expect a different result. 1+1 will always be 2. So, if we keep doing the same thing, we will always get the same result. But the good new is, research shows, it only takes 21 days to form a new habit, so start today.
On the other hand, our habits are usually triggered by what are called triggers. In fact, it is not life events that make you respond to life the way you do, but your triggers and your conditioning. For example, school children can be conditioned to being hungry by the school bell, shocking isn’t it. The truth is, anytime they hear the school bell for lunch, whether they were hungry or not, they become hungry instantly. But when they can avoid the exposure to the bell, which is the trigger, let’s say on school holidays, they would avoid the emotional hunger that the bell creates, after about 21 days of forming the new habit.
In the same way, identifying, avoiding and replacing any psychological triggers will empower us to kick the habit. This is known as positive feedback. Having said that, negative feedback can help you kick your habits, if it is your cup of tea. Negative feedback involves putting a rubber band on your wrist, so anytime you become tempted to do the habit, you snap the rubber band on your wrist. Ouch, I know which one I prefer. But seriously, negative feedback trains the mind to avoid a habit, in order to avoid the pain. But both negative and positive feedbacks work. And the choice is yours.
The third simple step I’m going to talk about: Formation.
Formation is act of forming something. But what I mean by formation is forming new good habits, to replace the bad ones, in order to change your life. Find something else to focus on to distract you from your habit. The devil uses idle hands. And our focus usually becomes our desire. Find something positive that will overshadow your habit, to desire. For example, someone who has a negative thinking habit, and decides to starve their negative thinking to death, with positive self talk. This will starve their habit to death, and they will end up developing, a new positive mindset.
Moreover, find a new hobby that helps you to maximize your strengths or a new hobby that helps you to develop new strengths. For instance, learning to play music, learning to write or learning to paint, are good diversions from any bad habit. These kinds of hobbies are also therapeutic. Besides that, beware of what I call the comfort zone syndrome. Because every time you step out of familiar a ground, that is your comfort zone, You will develop some anxieties, due to fear of the unknown. All you need to do is to keep talking your self out of the anxiety. Keep reminding yourself what have to gain, when you lose the habit. If you are consistent for about 21 days, you will lose the anxiety, and gain more confidence, about your ability to stay away from your unwanted habits.
So lastly, as Shaquille O’Neal famously said, you are what you repeatedly do. And I am saying to you, in order to become what you want, make a habit of doing only things that are becoming of you.
About the Author:
Henrietta Elegunde is an Author, Life Coach, ordained minister and Motivational Speaker. She specializes in teaching how to cultivate spiritual, mental, physical and emotional growth, in order to achieve total wellbeing (being made whole) in your life. She is the author of the book “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. For more information on how to book her for your next event, how her book can transform your life, or how to obtain free reading of part of the book; contact her by sending an email to helegunde@hotmail.co.uk
