CHANGING OLD NEGATIVE HABITS

CHANGING OLD NEGATIVE HABITS

CHANGING OLD NEGATIVE HABITS Many of us suffer from old habitual responses. We wish we could change these habits, particularly if they have negative results. Developing awareness and introspection about habits is a function of awakening consciousness. How can we learn to study and change our old habits?

STOP. PAUSE. When you wake up to realize you’re caught in the loop of an old negative habit: Stop. Pause. Take a deep breath (or two or three) and begin to observe your inner experience. Be curious about what you find. This conscious movement of your attention from outside yourself to inside yourself stops or slows down the momentum of the old habit pattern.

SLOW DOWN. Gently and lovingly take time to notice the details of how you feel in your body. Be aware of your emotions, the thoughts in your mind, and the actions you’re taking.

INVESTIGATE. Study your old habit with curiosity. Keep peeling the layers until you find what kind of fear, desire, or attachment is driving the old habit pattern. Focus on contraction or tense places in your body for information.

Ask yourself “What do I need or want, right now?”

LOVE YOURSELF. Be kind and compassionate toward everything you discover during these inner explorations. Welcome all parts of your fears and beliefs that drive the old habit patterns into the embrace of loving awareness. Relax into what’s present with compassion, understanding, and a loving heart. Once the old habit pattern is less in control, notice a calm space for something new and fresh to arise. Be open to new strategies to get your needs met by wisdom and love.

PRACTICE. The key to changing a conditioned habit is to practice. The goal is not to criticize or judge yourself. The goal is simply to slow down and observe the physical sensations, emotions, and thought patterns in a field of kind acceptance. Conscious awareness and loving attention will soften these old habit patterns.