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I recently watched the movie, Groundhog Day and it got me thinking that many of us, myself included can be living our own groundhog day. A groundhog is a creature of habit. Much of our lives are governed by habits we have adopted in our lives and these habits can be serving us and not serving us.

We can have good habits and bad habits. We can have habits which reduce our quality of life or increase it. We can have habits which lead our lives to a place of misery and destruction or to a place of happiness and fulfillment.

We may have habits such as smoking, drinking lots of alcohol, eating the wrong foods, not exercising, hanging out with the wrong people, spending money rather than saving it or even going to bed late. Most of our lives can be a routine of habits, day in and day out. These habits can become unconscious in that we don’t even realise or are not aware that we are doing them.

Companies, especially food and drink, know that consumers like you and me, are creatures of habit. How many of us change our brand of cereal or washing powder, which we buy in the supermarket every week? We rarely do! These companies know that once a consumer starts buying a certain product and if they are happy with it in regards to the quality and the quantity, then there is a high possibility that the customer will continue buying that particular product for a very long time.

A habit is usually a learned or routine pattern of behaviour, which is repeated so often that it becomes automatic or unconscious. If for example, you wake up in the morning and unconsciously have a cigarette, you have a habit. You could also have the habit of doing some physical exercise everyday, as well.

At times, lots of our old habits can be very hard to break and new habits can be hard to create. These old habits, which we repeat most often, can become ingrained in our brain. That is why at times, it can be so hard to break a habit, because of the emotional and psychological attachment or dependency we may have with the habit.

There is immense power and reward if we choose to adopt good habits in our lives. Good habits could be anything from exercising regularly, getting up early in the morning to eating healthy foods. When we choose to adopt positive habits, we usually feel the difference in our mental and physical health, our relationships, our financial situation and even in our environment.

At times it can be easier said than done, to change a habit. Here are a few tips I have come up with in regards to changing a habit;

√   Become aware of the habit that you would like to change.

√   Ask yourself – how is it serving me to have this habit?

√   What are the consequences if I continue with this habit?

√   Look for an alternative positive habit to replace your existing habit.

√   What is the positive gain or the reward you will get by embracing this new habit?

As always I would love to hear any feedback, comments or words of inspiration you may have….

Namaste,

~ TW

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