Those lil habits of ours...

17th Angel · 08-04-2008, 12:54 PM

lol...

So I have been trying to break many habits as of late... One major one would sure be smoking which I've broke.... But there are more... I am trying not to comment in a negative way about people... Which today, I broke... First customer I delt with.... And I have been attempting not to swear... Or use as much sugar in my coffee... As My teeth are bad lol... I was just this moment making a coffee... And in goes the usual two giant spoonfuls... Ah *bleep* I say... How *bleeping* easy it is to let these little habits take over... I then realise I broke another two of my lil habits... And one of them twice.... *sigh* Dang habits... Today I am on a mission it seems...

dauer · 08-04-2008, 03:14 PM

I've found a few methods helpful for breaking habits.

One is meditating regularly. That helps me to be more aware so I'm more likely to recognize my patterns.

Another is doing something because I don't want to. This strengthens my will. For example, maybe I don't want to do the dishes right now, I'd rather leave them for later. Instead of leaving them or saying to myself "Well it's got to be done" I'll say "I'm going to do the dishes because I don't want to do the dishes." Similarly, let's say I've made a big plate of seitan (yum!) and I'm going for a certain piece first. I will redirect myself and take a different piece, and intentionally not take that piece. It's all food. It's all going to taste pretty much the same. The only difference is conscious redirection.

The other thing that I find helpful is replacing a bad habit. It can be hard to completely stop something, but replacing one habit with another, the new habit might be something positive and if it's negative, at least it isn't so cemented in from repetition as the old habit.

-- Dauer

17th Angel · 08-04-2008, 04:22 PM

That sounds workable... I am gonna try that... Thanks.

wil · 08-07-2008, 06:19 PM

First step is deciding you have something you want to change..

Congrats one down!

Second step is to be aware of when you falter

Congrats two down!!

It is really downhill from here. Just realize all the time you lived when you didn't care who or what you slighted, or didn't even realize that you were having an impact!!

Release yourself from any ill thoughts about your past activity, after all it seemed like a good idea at the time, congratulatae yourself on your growth.

And realize it takes time, but it is incredible how far you've come!!

LeoSalinas22 · 08-07-2008, 07:18 PM

alex, muh buddy muh pal,

i feel your pain, but you are going about it the wrong way. the only way to face your enemy is to go right through him. in other words, you have to face the things you are trying to destroy, not go around them.

look, this may seem impractical, but it is working for me. i used to have this unparalleled love for chocolate. i would gorge on this crap like all hell get out! so i would eat it any chance i would have. eventually what happened, i got so friggin' sick of it that i just left it. another thing that helped is that it made my teeth hurt so much. the same things happened with soda, eggs, turkey bacon, self righteousness, etc.

many people see pain as a bad thing. i mean, it is if you don't learn from it. but, if you learn from it, you end up being a better person. so in other words, keep doing the things you are doing until they cause pain, so you don't do them anymore. know what i mean? or keep doing them until you are utterly disgusted with doing them. or keep doing them until something bad happens. such as the next paragraph.

in the case of dissing people. that is one problem i have as well. wether it be some slow ass driver on the road or at my job with customers. in my case, i kept driving like a maniac until eventually, a cop stops and gives me a fat ticket. trust me, after that, i learned really quick to just be patient with people. just yesterday i transferred a customer's call whilst the customer was still talking. pretty rude, right? anyways, the same customer located my stupid butt and had a talk with me. he told me he wasn't going to talk to my supervisor because he wanted to talk to me first and see how i would react with his giving me advise on good customer service. he was a cool guy and was just looking out for me i guess. but the point is, i learned to not treat people like crap over the phone. he was merciful with me, i guess i should return the favor. i also know that if i diss a stranger on the road or in public, eventually i am going to get my ass knocked out. but if that is what it takes to make me change, God's will be done...

the moral of the post? go right through the fire. you would be surprised at how wrong people are. most would think that fire destroys. it doesn't. IT PURIFIES. hope that makes sense. anyhow, i'm not saying that this works for everyone because as you or anyone would know, alot of people love pain and misery as well. just saying that this works for me. might for you. or you can do what dauer said in one of his posts about the pharasee banging his head against the wall until he bled. i have seriously been considering doing this everytime i stare at a woman. but people would think i am psychotic. or be a monk, man! i don't care! do what you think is best. laters, bruh.