Out with the old, in with the new – creating new, healthy habits…

We talk a lot about creating and developing new habits, but what about changing old habits and patterns that are clearly not working for us and do not serve us?

If these habits are “bad” for us/not serving us, why have we not changed them before now? I wonder why we stick to the familiar so much, even when it is not adding value to our lives? Have you even seen a better way to do things, at a job for example, and when you suggested a change, to make things more efficient, you were told ‘but this is always the way we have done things’ – like sticking to the old ways, even when they are not working, is chosen over any form of change at all – interesting, right?!

Do you do the same thing? Is there a certain belief or reason that is behind your negative habits/patterns? Is there something deeper — a fear, an event, or a limiting belief — that is causing you to hold on to the familiar, even when it is not working, rather than changing things for the better?

But you can’t just drop a “bad” habit – all habits, good and bad, have come into your life for a reason. Even the “bad” habits have some sort of benefit to you, have served you in some way, at least in the past. So in order to ‘eliminate’ the bad habit, you actually need to replace it with something else, something positive and nourishing that provides you with the same benefit. Most bad habits are created in response to stress or boredom, so in looking to replace the “bad” with a positive, choose a good substitute. You will need a plan for what to do instead of the bad habit, leaving a vacuum when you eliminate the negative habits will just foster more negative.

Recognizing the causes and sources of your “bad” habits is crucial to overcoming them. And we can change them!

The power of changing things up:

A change is as good as a rest!

Change itself is constant. Even if you resist or avoid it, it will enter your life just the same. When you initiate the change yourself, it’s pretty easy to adapt to it, since it’s a wanted and welcomed change. What if we viewed all changes were good by default?

Why does changing things up energize us so much?! Change helps us to grow and learn new things, to become adaptable and flexible, helps us see things from a different perspective and often times, small incremental changes can lead to massive shifts in the long term.

Try this:

So, from today, how about we will do things a little differently, in the interests of growth and to learn more about ourselves. For the next 7 days, how about you observe the habits that you do without thinking and look at why you think you do them, and then think/write about positive changes you would like to replace each one with. On day 8, replace the first habit and try that on for a week and see how it feels (out with the old, in with the new). When it sticks and is feeling “habitual”, then add another change.

Small, incremental changes not only lead to big results in the long term, but they are more likely to stick and become ingrained and second nature. Then we don’t have to choose or think about what habit we must follow, we have trained ourselves into the positive direction. Talk about the ultimate “set it and forget it”!

Be Well, Real Well,
Tracey