How to Transform a Bad Habit Into Your Golden Opportunity

Making the decision to fully commit to something new or different can feel very scary.  Many people are set in their ways.

They visit the same places, drive the same route to work and turn to the same habits when they get worried or stressed.

In many ways, this is just second nature.

Let’s say, for example, you plan to move or take a job promotion.  Even if you’re excited – it’s still a new thing especially if it’s your first time.  So naturally you turn to your favorite vice like drinking or spending or eating to help soothe you.

For me, I was an emotional eater.  When my life got too crazy, food gave me the space to numb out and not have to deal with what was happening to me.

But there’s one BIG problem with this and I’ll tell you in a moment.

I find that we seem to set our lives up around our habits as we get older.  I used bulimia to navigate the hard and challenging times.

So once that unhealthy “tool” was taken off the table and could not be called upon for support or solace, what do you think I did?

 

Well, I turned to something else to help me cope – ALCOHOL!  Luckily I realized I hated the feeling of being drunk so I let that go quickly.

Repeating the same behaviors over and over again and expecting different results is CRAZY!  Yet we’ve all done it and I believe the reason is this:

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!

 

I look back now and realize nobody told me that ending a bad habit would require changing the fabric of my being.

More importantly, the rehab nurses had no idea how to manage the questions I had so I could stop repeating the same mistakes and begin living.

Like most people, I figured it out on my own.

And truth be told, that’s probably how it was supposed to be.  BUT we are all more successful when we have little helpers along the way so we can change a little quicker and enjoy life to the fullest.

The next time you find yourself turning to the same bad habits or addictions,

JUST DO NOTHING 

Yup.  Cultivate the habit of just doing nothing in place of your habit!

Imagine for a second that you’re ready to grab that beer or that extra-large banana split.  We often think we have to have something else to replace our bad habit with, but we don’t know exactly what that is.

Well, now you do!  And it’s to DO NOTHING.

Can you see yourself doing that?  Doing nothing.  I realize it may not feel good initially inside your body or your mind to have this great need to partake in what helps to calm and soothe you.

But as you “do nothing” the transformation you need to permanently let go of your vice will happen.

To make it easier to do nothing I’ve listed three key steps that guarantee your transformation.

3 KEY STEPS THAT GUARANTEE YOUR TRANSFORMATION

1- COMMITMENT – The energy of commitment is what I suggest you call upon when you grow tired and are tempted to use your vice as a solution. If you don’t know what the energy of commitment is then this is your chance to experience it.  Simply think back to when you fully committed to something.  Now feel the energy of it.  THAT is the energy of commitment. Now apply that energy to your commitment to quit your bad habit.

2- STAY OPEN – To do this you’ll need to stop judging yourself, others and the things that happen in your life.  You see judgment is a dead-end. Staying open-minded will bring you many new opportunities.

3- GET SUPPORT – You cannot do this alone.  If you could have you would have.  It’s really that simple.  So let support be your friend.  Support could be phoning a friend when you need to.  It could be hiring a coach or therapist who is there for you when you need her the most.

One last thing.  And it’s important.  I once believed that getting rid of my bad habits would make me into a more perfect human being.

I was WRONG!

But what I discovered is that we are all PERFECTLY IMPERFECT and that is a blessing for each of us.  Ridding your life of addiction or bad habits does not mean you’ll be perfect or that you’ll have all the answers.

It means that you’ve decided to honor your body which is where all the answers you seek and need reside.  Recovery is a process not an event. And the same holds true for changing or breaking habits.

Shifting a habit should really be called change, transformation or even perhaps your divine opportunity to turn your life into the masterpiece you deserve it to be.

And one last thing.  From my experience in working with emotional eaters, recovering alcoholics and people who are monumentally stuck, they are some of the most gifted and extraordinary people on the face of this amazing earth.

If you’re one of those people and you need support or guidance schedule a complimentary session with MaryJo Briggs simply by clicking HERE.