Often, a habit is formed in response to how it makes you feel.
You may be upset over something. You might [eat, drink, smoke, bite your nails, exercise, clean] and you notice, usually unconsciously, that you feel better.
The next time you feel similarly bad, you remember, consciously or unconsciously, that when you [ate, drank, smoked, bit your nails, exercised, cleaned], you were soothed. Repeated often enough, the neural pathways are forged and so begins a habit.
How to change a habit:
- Develop your awareness.
- Gain knowledge about when you do the habit and what to do instead.
- Practice your "insteads" - changing your heart rhythms by changing how you feel. For example, revisit a place that gives you a sense of awe or ahhh! It is important to know what it feels like when your heart rhythm smooths out. I can help with that.
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Great plan for getting over a bad habit, Marianna 🙂
Dorlee, some habits are much easier to break, aren’t they?