Here you deliberately pat yourself on the back for having dinner at the table rather than the couch, even though you won’t immediately feel better
Here you proactively get the junk food or beer out the house, or when you realize, while driving home, that you are stressed, and you deliberately sit in the car and listen to music that you like while sitting in the driveway, or do a few minutes of deep breathing to relax, rather than automatically marching into the danger-zone of the kitchen.
Breaking habits isn’t about stopping but substituting. Here is where you come up with a plan for managing the party without drinking – getting a mocktail and hanging close by your good friend, rather than grabbing a drink and being with stuck with a bunch of strangers.
Or if you are concerned about your binge-eating at night, plan to bring two cookies up to your bedroom at 10 o’ clock and resolve not to go back downstairs for the rest of the evening to keep you from finding yourself wandering around the kitchen all evening and veering towards the kitchen. Or in order to avoid the temptation of internet porn, plan to unplug your computer when you get home and stay away from electronics, and instead settle in with that new book you got for your birthday, or call your mom, all to avoid falling into your set routine.
Here we are widening the context that surrounds the habit-pattern. Here you go to the gym during your lunch break because you know going after work is too https://besthookupwebsites.org/pl/down-dating-recenzja/ hard when you are so tired. Or you realize you don’t sit at the dining room table for dinner because it is so loaded down with papers and such, and so you need to start by both keeping the table clear and setting the table for dinner before you leave for work.
By looking at and changing the larger pattern you are actually not only making it easier to tackle the core habit, but are practicing exercising your willpower on smaller, easier pattern-breaking behaviors. This can add to your sense of empowerment.
These are reminders to help you break the pattern by creating positive triggers and alerts to keep you on track: Putting your running shoes at the side of your bed so you see them first thing in the morning, or putting an alert on your phone to leave for the gym, or checking in with yourself and gauging your stress level on the way home before it gets too high and out of your control.
This is normal, the low point in the process, and you need to keep your eyes on the prize
Get a running buddy, or a party buddy, or someone you can call, or an online forum you can tap into when you those cravings start to kick in and you are struggling. Talk to your friend about going to get a quick cup of coffee together rather than standing outside with your cigarettes. Go to AA meetings.
At some point in your efforts to break a habit, you reach a point where you go: Why am I bothering to struggle with this? You feel discouraged, you feel you are emotionally making your life seemingly harder and that there is little payoff.
But you also need to make sure you build in a payoff. You take the money you would be spending on alcohol or drugs or cigarettes and save it up to buy something else you’ve always wanted-a new outfit, a high-end mini-vacation. Again, you sink into having folks around you to cheer you on and help you realize that you are making progress and are on the right path.
