Ask someone to define the word habit and they will likely give
a negative definition. There is plenty of evidence that a habit can be bad; the
habit of smoking, overeating, drinking, watching television and on and on.
On the flip side, there are beneficial habits. The
habit of exercising, eating healthy, meditating, saving money, or anything else
that is part of living a life with passion.
We were not born with our current habits. We
conditioned ourselves to consistently do what are now bad habits and good
habits.
Often when a person wants to change a bad habit they
think in terms of elimination. Get rid of it and be gone with it. This usually
backfires.
You do have choice
A better choice is to replace on habit with another.
Replace smoking with walking or deep breathing. Replace over watching of
television with journaling. Develop replacing
foods that are bad for your health with those that are great for your health.
It’s really about choice. As an ex smoker of over 25 years, I know how difficult the process can be. I chose to make the change over 15 years ago when continuing on with the habit was more painful than making the change.
This is where the distinction of our habits resides.
When something is more painful to continue than change or there is more
pleasure in the change than continuing on with our current habits, we make the
change. Simple as that.
It takes what it takes
For some the change comes when we are told there is an
impending health crisis we are dealing with. For others, the thought of
changing a life threatening habit is more painful than continuing the habit.
What it all boils down to is…”What is the quality of
life you want?”
What are you committed to in order to achieve the dreams
you have? What habits are currently holding you back from this and what habits
do you need to form in order to move closer to your dreams and the quality of
life you say you want.
The choice is yours. Choose wisely.
Hi Chantal, Thank you for your kind words. I love writing for this blog and find the words seem to appear as needed.
Kathleen
Posted by: Kathleen Gage | April 04, 2009 at 12:03 AM
Warren Buffett once said: "Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."
Your post was particularly useful to me today. I'm trying to break a habit by replacing it with something better. In short, I hope that my new habit will become a chain "too light to be felt" -- until it's too heavy to be broken.
Love your blog!
Posted by: ~ Nona | April 04, 2009 at 07:57 PM
Thank you Nona. What a great quote from Warren Buffett. Thank you for posting this.
Best of luck with your habit. And yet, luck is not a primary factor, commitment is.
Kathleen Gage
Posted by: Kathleen Gage | April 04, 2009 at 08:26 PM
Thank you for submitting this article to the Living by Design Blog Carnival, I have included your post in the latest edition.
Posted by: Ananga | April 30, 2009 at 06:52 AM