Change your habits, change your life

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” ~Mike Murdock

What do we call something we do daily? A habit.

Part of the work of becoming a conscious human being is looking at our habits and patterns and seeing whether they serve us . . . or hold us back.

Sometimes we do things without even knowing why.

I love the story about a mother teaching her ten year-old how to cook a roast. As part of the preparation, the mother cut the ends off the roast before putting it in the pan.

The daughter asked why and the mother replied, “Well, honey, that’s how my mother taught me to do it.”

“But why?” asked the daughter.

“Let’s call up grandma and ask her.”

So they called grandma who replied, “Well, that’s how my mother taught me to do it.”

Next they called great-grandma who gave them her reason: “So it would fit in the pan.”

That isn’t a habit that will hold that family back [other than wasting a good piece of meat].

But it’s an example of things we do without even thinking about it. Perhaps the reason for it has long passed.

Does it make sense any more?

Does it still serve who you are today?

If you want to change your life, you need to change at least one thing you do on a daily basis. Consistency is the key to forming new habits.

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

~Samuel Smiles

As conscious people, we want to raise our vibrations. And if there are things we’re doing that lower it, we need to change them, such as:

• cutting out low vibration foods,
• watching our language and thoughts,
• reconsidering the people we hang out with? Do they bring our vibration up? Or down? [“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Jim Rohn]

“Nothing will change unless you make a daily change.” Leo Baubauta

An exercise to change your life

List your personal patterns or habits – things you do every day. In particular, what are things you do every day without thinking about it, from the time you get up.

Then, next to each habit [or activity] write how it benefits you or doesn’t benefit you.

For example: let’s say that each day you have a donut for breakfast. The only benefit I can see is that it temporarily tastes good. But the down side is huge: sugar soaring through your body first thing in the morning and throwing your body chemistry off, weight gain, an energy crash later in the day.

How can you change that habit? Replace the donut with something healthier. Yes, I know apples may not taste as good to you as donuts. At least not at first. But you will reap the rewards in better energy, health and weight loss.

Finding it hard to exercise? Read this article from HVMN.com on motivating yourself to exercise.

Bill paying: do you pay at the last minute, counting on the post office to get it there on time? And as a result incur late charges that affect your credit rating? Or do you pay early enough for it to be certain to get there on time. Your credit rating may hang in the balance.

Do you have a habit of negative self-talk? Why not focus on changing it to positive and give yourself an attitude boost?

What time do you get up each day? Would a half hour earlier give you more time for important projects?

What time do you eat during the day? Do you eat because you’re hungry or because this is the time everyone else normally eats. Some people have an internal clock that would better serve them in determining meal times.

A French biologist did a study on processional caterpillars who follow one another. He put them into a circle and in the center he put pine needles, which is the food they eat.

Rather than get out of line to go to their food source, they just continued to follow one another walking in a circle until they died!

Is that how you want your life to go? I thought not.

Make a note of your personal patterns and habits and whether it would be good to change any, and how you would change it. You’ll be glad you did.

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb