Do you have an unhealthy habit you are struggling to break? Or do you have a healthy habit you are trying to make a habit but are finding it difficult to adopt? Are you asking yourself why this is so darn hard to break or begin?
Our brain has a simple default mode for our responses in life. First, you have a trigger, then there’s an accompanying behavior, and the outcome is either a result or a reward. This behavior is automatic; it is how habits are formed. Being in this habit mode is like unconsciously putting yourself on autopilot.
First, you must recognize what you are doing. I tell my clients awareness is power. Be aware of the habit and see it for what it is. Don’t judge it; just see it.
Secondly, explore and understand the reward or result achieved from the behavior.
Mindfulness teaches us to witness our own life experiences. I like to use the analogy that it is like watching our own life movie.
Then ask yourself, what will this give me? Is this in my best interest?
Living mindfully aware, you observe with love and kindness how you are showing up in the present moment. It is at that moment you have the power to change. Taking that powerful pause, you can reevaluate the behavior. It’s not forcing yourself to change or berating yourself for not changing; instead, it sees it for what it is and encourages a state of willingness and neutrality to navigate.
This week I encourage you to apply this to a habit you are trying to break or adapt. As always, I am here to assist with a proven system that works to rewire the brain. If you want to learn, simply reach out to me below!
Mindfully yours,
Nancy
Thanks for drawing our attention to this interesting subject so inspiring and deserving the utmost consideration.
Awareness is the ability to observe and understand reality as it really is, beyond our mental patterns, prejudices and our points of view.
We are aware when we can see things as they are, without letting any conditioning distort our vision.
Awareness is like getting off the train on which we are traveling for a moment, taken by the thousand commitments and distractions of everyday life, to observe ourselves and our life from the outside. By momentarily stepping out of ourselves, we can have a more lucid and disenchanted gaze, just like an external observer would.
Understanding yourself is the first step to change. In fact, understanding something does not mean simply being aware of it but also realizing the causes and profound motivations by coming into contact with the emotional implications that such awareness entails.