How to crush life today?! Make habits that help you achieve your dreams.
We all have habits some good and some not so much. I have always been told that to change a habit you have to break the bad habit and change it to something good. But that was all. How do you break a bad habit? How do you change something that seems to have so much control? There times you don’t even realize that you do it.
I have been learning about how habits really work in Charles Duhigg’s book the Power of Habits.
For a habit to start there is a cue or trigger that makes you think of the habit. For example an emotionally taxing experience. When I get stressed I reach for the candy. Preferably something with the most chocolate and caramel I can find.
Then the reward. What you get out of the habit. Of course I get a sugar rush that lifts my mood for a moment. But I also feel a sense of calm. A feeling that life may be crazy but this moment is just me and the chocolate
The habit forms as I start to crave the reward. As I continue the habit I want that reward of feeling the sugar rush and calm for just a minute. As the habit continues the craving gets stronger and stronger.
So how do you change this habit once you have a craving firmly entrenched? You have to change the reward.
The new cycle works like this: you have the cue. The emotionally taxing experience. Instead of reaching for the candy bar (goodbye Milky Way) I choose to pray. I take a couple of deep breaths and pray to understand what I am really feeling.
In this case the reward is two fold. I feel better because I am treating my body in a healthy manner. But also the prayer connects me to a bigger strength. Slowly I will begin to crave the new reward more than the candy bar.
According to Duhigg this change of habits works great until life hits you upside the head with a curve ball. Then most people will go back to the original cue that brought them the reward. Kind of disheartening right?
Well not really. Because there is one more thing that we all need to make changing habits permanent. And that is belief. Belief that we can and want to make the change. Belief in a higher power (yes AA has it correct) that can help me change that habit. Now you see why I choose prayer as my new reward!
Is change easy with the understanding of belief? No it isn’t. However, as you believe that changing this habit is important. As you believe that you have the power to make this change permanent. As you tap into the belief that there is a higher power that WANTS to help you. The choice will get easier and easier. The new reward will get stronger and stronger because you will begin to crave that new reward. You will need and want it in your life.
You deserve all the good things in your life that you want and need. Changing your habits to good ones will help you to achieve those good things!
