I help people change habits all the time. Habits are nothing but behaviors that we do over and over again. All of us have behaviors we'd like to change. Some of them, like smoking, are bad for our health. Others don’t impact us as much,
Let’s say you always procrastinate when it comes to getting the weekly shopping done. You put it off until late in the afternoon until you finally decide to go out. By that time, the stores are crowded, with lots of other procrastinators. Parking is difficult. Often the store is out of the sale items you were looking for. By the time you’re done you’ve spent an extra hour shopping than you would have earlier in the day and you arrive home feeling exhausted and irritated.
For people that don’t have a tendency to procrastinate, changing behaviors like this may seem easy. For procrastinators like you, it's easier said than done. If you really want to change your behavior you’ll need more than a little self discipline, you’ll also need to try to discover why you procrastinate when it comes to this task. Once you figure it out you’ll probably be surprised to discover how easy changing behaviors like this can be. All you need is motivation and a plan.
You may find that what you dread most about the weekly shopping is really of things that happen as a result of you procrastinating! You know that you’re frustrated by the crowded conditions, the long waits and the time you need to complete it. Now it’s not something you can just forget because, if you want your family to eat, shopping needs to be done, but you make excuses until late in the day. If you simply made it your rule to get to the store as early in the morning as possible, you'd save an hour, find everything you needed and not have to put up with the crowds. These are some good reasons to motivate you to make a plan for changing a behavior you've practiced for years.
How about changing behavior patterns that are more challenging? Let's take smoking as a good example. If you've smoked for years, you've got a number of accumulated habits. First, there's the addiction to tobacco and all the other nasty things they put into the cigarettes. I’ve worked with hundreds of smokers to give up the habit and any of them can tell you that there are a number of triggers that tell your mind and body that it's time to light up. Maybe you’re trying to think through some problem. In your mind you’ve linked up the behavior that, in order to better focus and concentrate, a cigarette is required. Maybe someone or something upset you or maybe you're nervous. You're talking on the phone so you need to do something with your hands. There seems to be no end to this list of the triggers for the smoking behavior. And I know that when you're talking about changing behavior patterns of this type, they can be more difficult to change.
Again, in order to make a change you need to discover why you practice the behavior. You also need to understand what's stopping you from changing your behavior patterns so that you can quit. The reason this behavior is so difficult to address is because it involves a number of inputs. First it’s an addiction. It also involves several mental games you play with yourself and a truckload of excuses you’ve built up over the years you’ve smoked. When giving up a behavior such as smoking, you definitely need a well thought out plan.
To change your behavior here’s what you want to do. First, make a list of everything you enjoy about smoking. Many people find that this list is quite short! Second make another list of things you believe harmful about smoking. And don’t just parrot what the doctor has told you. How is it affecting you personally, right now? Do you find yourself winded climbing a flight of stairs? Do you put off more necessary expenses in order to buy tobacco? Does your breath and clothes stink? Are you experiencing health problems as a result of smoking?
Once you've got all your pros and cons down on paper, make a list of alternatives you can do when you want a smoke. Changing your behavior patterns is all about changing your habitual patterns. For example, when you're thinking through a problem, take a short walk instead of lighting up. Here’s one that works for many smokers, wrap up your cigarette pack in paper, with a rubber band around it. This will at least give you pause, reminding you of what you want to accomplish. If you want some graphic motivation follow this link or keep a picture of what lung cancer looks like in your desk drawer. When you get the urge to light up, take a peek at this picture.
Changing behavior patterns is a matter of substituting one habit for another and a well considered plan. It doesn’t matter whether it’s changing a behavior like procrastination or another like smoking or overeating, if you have the right reasons and a good plan you can make the change you want!
If you would like to quit smoking I have a FREE e-Course!
A few years ago, I got divorced, I quit my job, both my parents died, my daughter was fifteen going on thirty and I had to clean up a house full of the junk my parents had accumulated by living in a house for 50 years. I couldn’t sleep, my head constantly hurt, my cholesterol was 230 and I was 25 pounds overweight. My subconscious was running away with my mind and making me nearly crazy. To say the least, I was a real mess. Now I should have known better because for the last thirty years I’d been studying how to improve my life and how to set goals and achieve them but it didn’t change my weight. I kept overeating, eating the wrong things and using the wrong type of exercises. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/quitting-smoking-takes-more-than-willpower-you-also-need-a-plan-909152.html
As a result I changed my approach and went back to training in Tai Chi and Chi Kung at least twice a day. These are two Chinese martial arts that help develop internal energy. I also began recording and listening to hypnosis sessions I had developed over the last 30 years. It took a while but my weight came down, my stress level is down and my life is more stable. Recently I had a physical. My total cholesterol was 172 and my HDL’s (good cholesterol) was 42. I weigh 171 pounds and I’m feeling fantastic.
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