Habits

Everyone has needs and SOME WAY that they get those needs met… or attempt to get those needs met. For about 19.7 million Americans aged 12 and older – substance use was one of the methods to do just that.

While addiction has many factors associated with cause, habit plays a role. But what is a habit? A habit is simply a regular practice. There are triggers, cues, and rewards that urge us to repeat the behavior repeatedly … resulting in a habit. Brush your teeth every night before bed? Habit. Take your shoes off when you walk into a home (yours or not)? Habit. Use the bathroom before you leave the house? Habit.

So how do we get “bad habits” and how do we get rid of them?

Bad habits are simply behavior that no longer works for us. This hasn’t always been so. There was positive reward in the beginning, or we would not have continued the behavior. Over time, our goals change. Perhaps you recognize eating as an emotional response is no longer serving you but the habit persists. You want very badly to stop this behavior and you focus on only that, stopping!

What if we shifted your energy toward what you really wanted instead? What you really want is to handle or express your emotions differently. You don’t want to stop having them. How would you like to express your emotions instead? Crying? Laughing? Talking them out? Journaling? Hitting a punching bad? Physical exertion through other exercise? Getting really clear about what you DO WANT will get you much further than focusing on what you don’t want to have happen. Instead of “breaking bad habits” I challenge you to put energy into creating new ones!

I’ve recently (in the last 4-5 years) started working on this. One of the ways I practice new habits is picking a theme word for the year. This year, I chose “abundance”. I grew up below the poverty line and was in constant fear of having to move, yet again. I received mixed messages about finances, food, shelter, and relationships which has impacted me into my adult life. So much so, I don’t trust when things are going well. SO, to work on that, I am focusing on “abundance”. Whenever possible, I repeat the phrase, “I am abundant” or “I am open to abundance” to open my mind to what I DO WANT.

Another way I practice this is on my food healing journey. I know that I do not have to solve the “problem” of Food Addiction. It isn’t a problem, and neither am I! I do WANT to be stronger. So, I have started to research and practice strategies to increase my physical strength. I am slowly habituating resistance training into my week by taking very small steps. Too much, too quickly and I will give up – I know this about me.

These are just a couple of the ways I work on addressing my needs without trying too hard to “stop” the other behavior. Fear is natural. Addiction is out of my control. I can work to shift how I respond to stimuli. I can take responsibility for my body.

How about you?!? What NEW habits would you like to form? How will that get you closer to what you want?