Break Habit

by Kathryn Yarborough

I’m ready to break free of all the ways I keep doing the same thing over and over again.

Writing articles for my new web page Relaxed-and-At-Ease.com, has motivated me to identify – and break – all of my habits that keep stress around.

I intend to break each one… One at a time.

Our vibration is determined by what we think, feel, say, and do.   What becomes manifest is based on our most consistent vibrations… which – if we’re not present – is generated by our habits.

In the past, I’ve shifted my habitual negative emotions of hopelessness, despair, and insecurity by doing inner healing work.   Now I usually feel positive – excited, joyful, and loving.

I’ve learned how to intentionally change my thinking habits with the help of my emotional guidance system…

…I notice when I start to feel bad… then I identify what I’ve been thinking or talking about… and remember that I don’t want it (since I feel bad)…

Then I identify and affirm what I do want.

So now it’s time for me to stop  doing the things that keep me out of alignment with the Divine and keep stress around.  Like…

• Drinking diet coke
• Eating poorly because of poor planning
• Keeping others at a distance
• Having a messy and cluttered home
• Working instead of meditating, walking, spending time in nature , or taking care of myself

So how do we break a habit?  How can I break my habits?

Habits form neural grooves whether they’re habitual thoughts and worries or things we do. Read here about how they keep us stuck.

To break a habit… we need to be very intentional.

I was on vacation last week.  I decided ahead of time that I wanted to not drink diet coke for the week and instead drink water with lemon  juice – because lemon juice helps us detox.

To break a habit… it’s helpful to vision life without the habit.

When we use visualization ahead of time, we can imagine what’s going to be tough and figure out what to do about it – so it doesn’t stop us.

To break a habit… we may need to stop doing any associated behavior…

This is any thing we do that we associate with the habit  – like I go for drives when I drink diet coke… If I don’t go for a drive, I’m less likely going to want to drink one.

And probably MOST Importantly…

To break a  habit… we need to know WHY we want to break it…

And that reason has to be more important to us than what we like about the habit.

While on my vacation, I was diet coke free for six days!!!

I think the reasons I could do this were…

1. I had thought about it ahead of time and visioned it.
2. I planned what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and several dinners.
3. The flow of my days was not what I usually do when I’m at home.
4. I didn’t have a car – and I usually drink diet coke while going for a drive.
5. I am tired of feeling icky from diet coke and poor nutrition.

Now that I’m back – I’ve been home for two days – and I’ve had 3 large diet cokes.  And even though I enjoyed them while I was drinking them… I think it’s time for me to be diet coke free.

I’d like to be diet coke free for one month… Until September 9, 2009.

As I write this, my first thought is… What about breakfast? I’m in the habit of going to McDonalds – now you know all of my secrets! – and getting an egg and cheese biscuit and diet coke… every morning.

To do something else for breakfast, I’ll have to go to the grocery store because I don’t have much food at home… and it would be really great if I planned a few meals for the week first and had a list… and that means doing something other than work…

So maybe you can see my challenge… I will have to change several behaviors to be able to change one of the behaviors.

So maybe… I should start with planning meals and snacks with the intention of being diet coke free.  So…

I intend to take about thirty minutes tonight to plan meals for this week (including breakfast) and take about thirty minutes to go to the grocery store to buy what I need for the week.  I see myself doing this between 8 and 9… after I’ve gone home and relaxed for a little bit.

I’ve decided to use this blog to record how this goes.

I will write my plans on how to break free from each of my habits and my experience as I implement these plans – including my successes and struggles.

I’m doing this publicly for two reasons -

• I think it will be fun to write in my blog often about this.
• I’m hoping it will help others… because when I’ve heard about other people’s challenges, I’ve felt more normal.
• I’m hoping it will educate and motivate other people who want to break their habits.

I’m doing it for myself because I want to…

• Feel better – I’m sick of feeling stiff, bloated, and weak… and I want to feel healthy, strong, and limber.
• Reduce my stress – I don’t want to die from the impact of stress on my body – and while I’m here, I don’t want to feel tense, uptight, worried, stressed, or icky in any way.
• Align with the Divine.

May every word I speak, every action I take, and every thought I have be aligned with my True Nature.