Most of us will easily relate to the challenges associated with changing a habit. You try to drop the soda or give up the smokes and just the thought of it sends you into a full-on panic attack. That my friends; is a well-worn habit.
I’m not here to tell you that changing that is going to be easy. It’s not. I can almost hear you saying, “Gee, thanks Carrie, we appreciate that!” Don’t stop reading now - there’s more. We all know the things that we need to give up in our lives and most of us have tried at one point or another to let go of them. We gain encouragement when we see the person who lost 100 pounds and kept it off or says they quit smoking 5 years ago. Our antenna goes up and we think, for just a moment, “This is possible for me.”. Before we can even resonate on that encouraging thought, our Lizard Brain spurs into action.
What you need to understand is that your brain doesn’t differentiate between good or bad habits. It simply wants you to maintain the habits you’ve created. As a result, when you even think about changing a habit, your own brain will begin to work against you immediately. Be prepared for that voice; still and quiet or screaming, “You can’t do this”, “You aren’t ready for this”, “Now is not a good time.” It’s not that you're weak; studies have proven that our minds mind are tremendously strong. The problem is that it's working against you at this point. Your strong mind is not telling you to take on the challenge, to fight to win or that you can do it!
Does that mean that you need to give up and there is no chance? OH NO. Understanding how your mind works will help in the journey to let go of a bad habit in your life. Prepare for it. Know what your mind will tell you and call it out as a liar! You are capable. You can give this up! You can replace this negative habit with a positive one. You’re going to need to recognize and trip up your Lizard Brain a bit and it’s going to feel different and hard, but the freedom on the other side is amazing.
When you’re ready to begin the journey of letting go, prepare first your mind and be ready for the battle. Know the lies you will tell yourself by product of the way your mind works. Call them out and move forward with absolute knowledge that you can win! You can rewire those old patterns and establish new ones! You can change – we’re here to help! A mindset coach is excellent for this.
If you’ve overcome a battle and you’re willing to share your success – drop a line below and encourage other readers today! One of the many things that assist in the journey of letting go is encouragement from other positive people in our lives!