“Correcting bad habits
cannot be done by forbidding or punishment.”
– Sir Robert Baden-Powell
(1857-1941)
Founder of the Boy Scouts
For many
years I have worked with people who have struggled with habits and addictions
of all kinds. Not just the big stuff
like drugs, alcohol and the like, but everyday habits like laziness, negative
thinking and anger. These may not be the
things you think of when you talk of bad habits, but they really are the worst
because they are so accepted. It is the
little habits that keep us from achieving the success we desire.
How does one break these
habits. It is easy to say, "Just
quite" but it is a different story when you try to do it. Many of these habits have been part of our
behavior for so long we do not know what to do without them. Here are a few simple, yet powerful steps
that you can take to remove these habits and begin living a life of victory and
freedom.
Don't Stop Things, Start Them
Here is the key to many behavioral
changes that do not work. We focus all
our attention on stopping the behavior we want to change. The problem is you cannot live in a vacuum
and must replace that behavior with something, so what do we fill it with - the
old behavior. Rather than worrying about
stopping something, think about what you want to do in its place. Example: You have the habit of procrastination
and you want to be productive instead.
What do you have to do to be productive?
What will your life look like if you were productive? Focus all you attention on that and start to
apply what you find right away. You do
not have to stop procrastinating at all, you only have to start to be
productive.
Feed Your Brain Good Things
Dr. Robert H. Schuller said, "You
are what you think about all day long."
That is a deep and powerful truth.
Feed your mind thoughts and information about the person you intend to
be. Note: who you INTEND to be, not hope to
be. Be mindful of the things you watch,
listen to and read. Keep the information
you feed yourself to that which builds you up, informs you and makes you
better.
Keep A Positive Attitude
You will go nowhere if you are negative
and discouraged all the time. Be
positive and enthusiastic about who you are becoming. You will never be perfect, but you should
always strive to be. Look at your
behavior as the things you can do, not what you cannot do. Do not see the removal of old habits as
restricting yourself, but rather for what it really is, freeing yourself.
Start Living Your New Life
Take a minute and think about
what it would be like to live the life you want to live. What would you be doing? How would you feel and act? What would you be thinking about, taking
about and engaging in? Now, start to do
it. This is not a fake it till you make
it, it is living as you choose to live.
Do not buy into the lie that you have to first have a better job,
different living situation, more money or things like that. What gives you the life you want to live is
inside you, not outside you. Go for it
now and be excellent in all you do.
You
matter! You matter to the world and to
yourself. Remember to be your best, love
God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.
John Patrick
Hickey is an author, speaker, Life Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from
John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your
church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.
© 2014 John
Patrick Hickey
No comments:
Post a Comment