If you feel trapped by negative habits, there is a three-step process you can use to replace them with positive, empowering habits.
By Carol Rickard
In last week’s post, I promised to share how to break out of the ‘Invisible Prison’ of HABIT.
Breaking out of ‘Invisible Prisons’ – the HABITS that hold us stuck – is a 3-step process. Don’t expect to accomplish it quickly.
After all, think back to an old movie or television show where they were trying to break out of a prison by digging their way out—it took some time.
If it were so easy to do, there’d be more people doing it!
So, a HABIT is nothing more than a behavior we have repeated so many times it has become our autopilot. We do it without even thinking about it.
This is my WordTool for HABIT:
Here’s the 3-step process I’ve taught my patients AND used myself to break free from HABITS:
Step 1 – Identify the HABIT (We did this last week!)
Step 2 – Identify the feeling/emotion connected to this behavior.
Step 3 – Set a new autopilot direction!
Let’s take a closer look at each of these steps…
Step 1 – By this point, you’ve identified the ‘Invisible Prison’ you want to break out of. WARNING: DO NOT try to work on more than one HABIT at a time.
Step 2 – This is the 2nd most important step. In fact, if we don’t spend some effort trying to ‘connect the dots’--failure is certain.
Every behavior has a feeling/emotion connected to it. The problem is, most people try to change the behavior WITHOUT doing this step, which is why many fail.
Ask yourself this question every time you catch yourself doing the very HABIT you are trying to change: “What am I feeling?” & write it down!
The goal here is to connect your habit with your feelings!
Step 3 – In setting a new autopilot direction, there are two parts: the behavior & the feeling/emotion.
Behavior: Identify the behavior that will lead to the result you’re looking for & do it EVERY DAY:
Examples –
Feeling better = taking medications as prescribed
Not feeling lonely = being more social
Liking my job = actively looking for a new job
Using a checklist will help you stay on track. Keep doing this until you have done it 30 days in a row. This will ensure a new autopilot direction is set in the brain!
Feelings/Emotions: You must also do something to manage the feeling/emotion in a new healthy way. Otherwise, it will lead to a return of the very behavior you are trying to change!
There are many LifeTOOLS I have written about over the years—pick one and do it EVERY DAY!
Remember: Only try to break out of one HABIT at a time!
If you have any questions, ask them below in the comment section.
~ To Living Well TODAY! ~
via Esperanza – Hope To Cope
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