Bring on the Habits

Oh, sweet habits!  They can be the greatest thing we have going on when they are serving us, and they can be our greatest enemy when they are not!

A habit is our response to a problem.  Our response only becomes a habit if we repeatedly perform the response to the same problem over and over again.  That little innocent habit can get so ingrained in us that we don’t have to consciously step in to respond.  We have wired our brain to take over when the same problem occurs. 

Now a problem can be as small as “what did I miss out on while I was sleeping overnight” and our response to look at our phone immediately upon waking up is the solution to that problem.  If we repeat that response every morning, we will have trained our body to reach for the phone upon waking up without even consciously doing it. 

Or the problem of “I am so stressed out” and our response is to reach for something sugary which for a brief moment gives us enjoyment.  If we repeat that response every time we start feeling stressed, we will have trained our body to immediately grab something sugary. 

Take that in for a moment!

Think about all the steps that had to occur to get that response to become a habit that takes over unconsciously.  Now think about rewinding all those steps for habits that don’t serve us!  My friends, this is not an overnight change.  It takes time, and that’s OK! 

First things first, simply start paying attention.  Pay attention to how you respond to day-to-day situations that occur.  You may be surprised by habits you didn’t even realize you had!

AND as always, no judgment.  Judging ourselves gets in the way of us making true, lasting change.

You got this!