One of the most difficult reasons we struggle with making healthy decisions is because breaking old habits sucks.
The reason we form habits in the first place is because our brain wants to save time and focus its resources on what really matters. Your brain doesn’t have time to break down the pros and cons every time you have a choice between fruit and a candy bar. Your brain doesn’t take the time to consider the benefits of taking a walk in the morning instead of checking your phone.
Your brain’s goal is to keep you alive. Whatever habits you have formed thus far will be the default settings until the day you decide to change them. Your brain won’t do it for you, you have to do it.
There’s an amazing book on this topic that I highly recommend – Atomic Habits by James Clear (HERE). The book goes into all the ways you can form new habits and destroy old ones.
What works for me is having a greater sense of presence. It requires me to take habits out of the subconscious mind and bring them to the conscious. This isn’t easy, but it helps a lot in the beginning.
Take the single habit you want to break, the habit that will benefit your life the most. Consider the habit, what you do, when you do it, and then what you want to do now instead. Once you have a clear picture of what you currently do and what you want to actually do, you can start working at it.
Say you want to stop looking at your phone before bed. Tonight, when you go to pick your phone up, think before you do it. Don’t let your brain do what it’s used to doing. Bring the habit to your conscious mind and pause before acting. Now you can make the choice. You’re no longer letting your brain act as it always has. You’re in charge.
Do this with any habit you want to break. Take what you currently do, determine what you want to do, then try your best to be aware of when you act on the habit in the future.
When you stop letting your brain act on instinct and routine, you bring the power back to you. When you realize you’re about to make the unhealthy choice, you give yourself the opportunity to act differently.
January 12, 2022
