Humans are Habitual Creatures

Humans are habitual creatures. This can obviously work in both directions, good and bad. A lot of factors can go into the decisions we make. The choices and patterns of behavior we practice. I want to discuss a bit about some of the things we can do, from my own experience, to break bad habits and adopt healthier patterns of behavior.
One of the most important aspects of change is self-honesty. Obviously, it is important for a person to be honest with themselves. I mean, if I can’t be honest with me, how can I ever be truly honest with anyone else or situation?
A lot of factors come into play here regarding underlying motives, expectations due to previous experiences i.e. childhood, especially resentments and trauma. I definitely allowed, subconsciously, negative events from my childhood to play too large of a role in life decisions, moment to moment, as life went by…

The importance of understanding personal motives regarding this type of situation cannot be overstated. Motives… What is driving you to do the things that you do? Especially regarding negative behavior.

The biggest questio
I had to answer was this- “Why do I do the things that I do?” This can apply to many behavioral aspects ranging from a small unwillingness to be open-minded enough to “see” or accept change as they come even in the moments as they arise… Adaptation through disce
ment and open-mindedness…

But it can also explain an almost total and incapacitating distrust of almost everything outside of an individual. The ramifications of these ideals obviously range in scale of impact depending on the severity. A person can practice unhealthy social and personal behaviors daily, and still be successful. Or if so extreme, they can end up in prison or dead, God forbid.

The point is that unhealthy behavioral habits are hard to break regardless, some more so than others, but with the implementation of proper tools, habits can be broken. Step one- Understanding the underlying problem. What is the motivation for doing what it is that you are doing? The first step in any solution is being able to identify the problem.

Step two- Mindfulness of the need to redirect ourselves from the behavior(s) and work towards the new, intended behavior. I know that I’m speaking in general terms here, but examples can range from unhealthy eating habits stemming from possible insecurities, trust issues due to some type of childhood issue (close-mindedness), to full-blown disregard for one’s own well-being due to an inability to process some type of trauma. Addiction(s) also needs to be mentioned here too.
These are all behaviors that can be changed. But it takes work. Another major aspect of this paradigm is willingness. Willingness to accept new information, accept new habits and behaviors, and change in the direction we are seeking.

I have mentioned quite a bit about how introspective writing helped me change my life. Check out this post for part of that story. Mindfulness, willingness, understanding motives. There are many positive, habit-changing tools available for us to redirect ourselves If we are seeking to do that.

Hey, breaking habits are hard. They become ingrained in who we are it seems at times, but always remember, you are more than the sum of your experiences. What does that mean? Tap into that which is more… the true you, adopt some tools to aid in the redirection, stay the course and the true you will prevail.