Ep 17 – Breaking Bad Habits
By Shweta
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We all know the things that are bad for us, yet we indulge in them.
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” ~ Warren Buffett
We make a vow, decide not to indulge in it in the heat of the moment and a few days later we are back to square one. We come up with brilliant excuses on why the break doesn’t count.
How often have we told ourselves “just this one time?” Or this doesn’t count because I’m in a foreign country, I will start on the 29th of February because it is a good day.
We wait for planetary alignment, a meteor occurrence, or the start of a brand-new year. We tell ourselves these tales of scheduling a time and place to change our behaviour as though it requires an auspicious starting point. But at the end of the day, we are only kidding ourselves.
Change is not easy, it never is.
Any break from our habitual patterns or blocks stored deep within our sub-conscious mind requires conscious and consistent effort to make it happen.
So how can you break your habit?
1- First things first, stop lying to yourself and remember you are fooling no one but yourself.
2- Take your time to conclude whether you need to change something in your life. A lot of times we make decisions in haste but then once the momentum passes so does the conviction to make that change.
So, be clear on WHY you want to make the change, what harm is it causing you currently, and visualize your life if you were to make amends – what positive effects will happen in your life if you were to break this habit? And once you are convinced it is worth the effort, reach that decision that you must change.
3- Don’t go all out and make tall claims on transforming yourself overnight. Start small, break down that change, and gradually bring a full stop to it. I remember there was this time where Red Bull Sugar-Free was my staple morning drink. It was part of my groceries every single week. Initially, it was great, slowly the caffeine started to take a toll on me and I realized it needed to be stopped.
So, from 5-7 Red Bulls a week, I decided to bring it down to 2-3. Nothing too drastic, I spread it over the week so that I never craved it too much at any point in time. And slowly after a few weeks of this, I brought it down to once a week and now I don’t even look at it. It is completely out of my system.
4- Along your journey, if you fail, don’t berate yourself. Get back again to your planned action the very next day and ensure that you stick to your word and commitment.
There is never a good time for a change and it is tough no matter when you begin.
Stay strong and start from wherever you are right now.
Measure your progress over time and keep the momentum even if it’s small.
Remember, you are answerable only to your conscience and not to the world.
The minute you take yourself seriously, your actions will reflect that change, and lying to yourself is no longer an alternative.
