06/14/2019
A quick guide for changing bad habits!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here’s the process in four steps:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1. Habit that I want to change — what’s no longer serving me? What have I outgrown?
2. What it gives me — what benefit do I get from this habit? How does it make me FEEL?
3. What I can replace it with — what do I enjoy and value just as much, or even more?
4. So, I will — what small step can I realistically commit to? How can I make it easy for me to execute on? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The most important realization I had in the process of shifting hard-to-break habits is realizing that everything I do is to feel a certain way. Once I could unpack WHY I was doing it and the BENEFIT it gave me, I could replace it with something I enjoyed and valued more.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Let’s take negative self-talk. This is a habit I didn’t want and was convinced was adding nothing to my life. Guess what it was giving me? CONTROL. With that realization, I replaced it with what I enjoy more: humor, lightness, and detachment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That’s why I started nicknaming and having fun with my critical inner characters. There’s Doc, the Impostor (a neuroscientist at Harvard 😂), Grace the Perfectionist (hailing from London), and Anxious Annie. Now when my critics act out, I can laugh and think, “Oh, that’s Annie getting worked up again.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Or Evening wine. I love me some wine, but noticed having a glass or two every night had me feeling foggy in the morning. Understanding that I drank wine to relax and feel pleasure inspired me to replace it with something I enjoy just as much: restorative yoga. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Or waking up and grabbing my phone. This was a HARD one. Breaking this habit required me to design my environment so that I literally cannot grab my phone in the morning. It’s in the other room. My journal sits on my nightstand. After a week of fighting the urge to grab my phone, I now am getting more energy and pleasure from journaling. Experiencing the benefit of the new habit helps me change the old one.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What habits do you want to start shifting this week?
Credits Choose Wonder
💪 @ Miami, Florida