Habits. A great deal of misunderstanding clouds the real source of what a habit is, what it is not, and how much power it can have in the life of every individual on the planet.
Habits can run the gamut from nail biting, to binge eating, to procrastination, to running up credit card debt, to constantly playing computer games, to anger outbursts, and on and on the list goes. As anyone reading this is well aware, such a list can also include highly destructive behaviors such as substance abuse.
Harmful habits can cost time, money, rest, health, happiness, relationships, and possibly even a job. Many such habits hinder one from living a fulfilled, successful life.
Anyone who has tried to change an undesirable habit can testify to the sheer strength of an ingrained habit. They can create a hold that is seemingly impossible to break. Until now.
Check Out Our Website at http://www.liveoptimized.com
Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
Do You Habit? The Power Of Facing Your Habits
1.
2. The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong
to be broken. – Samuel Johnson
Introduction
Habits Have Power
You did it again. You vowed (and vowed again) that you were done with
binge eating forever. Only recently have you had the courage to admit the problem
was bigger than you realized. You admitted that the habit was adversely affecting
your life. And for two full weeks you did great. Then on the way home from work,
after a horribly stressful day at the office, you stopped at the local fast food drive-
up window and ordered two large cheeseburgers and wolfed them down right there
in the parking lot.
Sound familiar?
But you say, I’ve never had a problem with binge eating in my life. If that’s
true, then substitute that habit with the one that does give you fits. What is it in
your life that pulls you down, drags you back, and leaves you full of guilt and
shame every time you try to change and then fail? (Or you experience perceived
failure. There is a difference.)
Habits. A great deal of misunderstanding clouds the real source of what a
habit is, what it is not, and how much power it can have in the life of every
individual on the planet.
So what exactly is a habit? In the American Journal of Psychology it is
defined in this way:
3. "A habit, from the standpoint of psychology, is a more or less fixed
way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a
mental experience."
Andrews, B.R. "Habit" American Journal of Psychology Vol. 14. No. 2. (1908) pp 121-
149 Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1412711 .
Here is a simpler definition:
Habits are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to
occur subconsciously.
Good Habits; Bad Habits
Habit can be good or bad; however, we more often speak of bad habits than
we do good habits. In other words, we are more likely to think of habits as
something negative that need to be changed.
Habits can run the gamut from nail biting, to binge eating, to procrastination,
to running up credit card debt, to constantly playing computer games, to anger
outbursts, and on and on the list goes. As anyone reading this is well aware, such a
list can also include highly destructive behaviors such as substance abuse.
Harmful habits can cost time, money, rest, health, happiness, relationships,
and possibly even a job. Many such habits hinder one from living a fulfilled,
successful life.
Anyone who has tried to change an undesirable habit can testify to the sheer
strength of an ingrained habit. They can create a hold that is seemingly impossible
to break. As the quote at the beginning of the Introduction says, “too strong to be
broken.”
4. On the other hand, we all know stories of people who have changed for the
better. How did they to it? How can we employ this amazingly strong force to
become our friend and cause it to work for our good?
We’ll take a look at some of the answers in Your Daily Habits: Friend or Foe?
Next, we’ll learn exactly what a habit is and how it works.
Click Here For Access To The Awesome Book