I don't make New Year's resolutions. If something in my life needs to be resolved why should I wait?
"One last time"
"One more week"
"I will when..."
You are only fooling yourself into thinking you are ready for the change. As long as you love what hurts you, you'll keep coming back.
Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
- Mark Twain
You might think I'm being negative but I'm trying to say that people go about change in the wrong way. Some common mistakes:
- trying to change too many habits at one time
- no accountability or support system (trying to do it on their own)
- quitting after failure
- not recognizing habit triggers
- not planning for habit triggers
- not logging progress but rather dwelling on failure
- trying to "re-invent the wheel" (not doing their research before)
- replacing old habits with new good habits
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
- Jim Ryun
I forget sometimes that I used to bite my nails. My nails and cuticles were terrible looking. There were times I'd chew my nails until they'd bleed. I got to the point where I was truly disgusted with how my hands looked. Stopping was difficult since most of the time I wouldn't even realize that I was doing it. I didn't have any real success until I recognized the reasons why I bit my nails in the first place. If I caught myself biting my nails, I'd stop then think about the situation I was in and the reason why it was happening.
If you made New Year's Resolutions, think for a minute:
"Did I take on too much?"
"Did I prepare myself enough for these changes?"
Recognize that you are a human that makes mistakes and it will take some time before you can kick your old habits. Trying to think of slip ups as learning experiences ("How did I get to this point? What can I do next time?").
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