Harmful to Helpful Habits, Break’um to Make’um

SHOW NOTES:

On this show…we’re breaking up with our old patterns and making room for something new as we change harmful into helpful habits! You know we all have those little things we still hold on to, justifying that one day, soon, we’ll change our ways, and do better. You name it and we’ve justified it at one time or another. These might be habits we learned at an early age or ones we’ve adopted recently to cope with a trying time in our lives. Nevertheless, they have to go. We are on a quest for a new, healthy, and sustainable life full of joy. Old and harmful habits don’t have a place in our new normal. You might be carrying something around that you didn’t even know was harmful. Maybe it’s not as tangible as overeating and drinking but more personal and internal. Either way, it’s not serving you in a positive way so guess what…it’s got to go! Grab those pruning shears and let’s get to work cutting out the dead weight that’s preventing you from thriving. 

Routines are great, aren’t they? Patterns we have in our life which require little thought. Auto-pilot if you will. Sometimes they protect us from the more mundane aspects of our life. The drive you’ve made to work thousands of times, the laundry that piles up every week without fail, cashing your check and paying your bills, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash over and over. But routines can also protect bad habits that can go unaddressed for decades. The morning cigarette with coffee, the beer to unwind, the slice of pie that perks up a bad mood, the negative self-talk that keeps us from feeling confident, the gossip that makes us feel like part of a crowd. 

When is the last time you examined your daily routines and rituals? When is the last time you challenged your thinking? When is the last time you adopted something new? 

Let’s take a personal inventory to see where we spend our time, what feels good and provides great benefits, and what might be holding us back. Let’s be careful with the “feels good” part of this inventory. Not everything that feels good is actually good for us. Evaluate the short and long-term effects and benefits of these routines and rituals.  

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits helps us with The Habits Guide: How to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

Shana Lebowitz spotlights A habit expert says people come in 4 types — and figuring out yours is the first step to being happier found at businessinsider.com

We’ve talked recently about decluttering the mind and James Clear expands on that idea when it comes to habits...How to Declutter Your Mind and Unleash Your Willpower by Using Bright-Line Rules

Gretchen Rubin - Health, Habits, and Happiness

Nir Eyal - Habits or Routines

CHALLENGE: conduct a personal inventory to identify those routines and rituals that are holding you hostage. Develop their replacement by understanding what new helpful habits you need to adopt. Break’um to Make’um!

I Know YOU Can Do It!