Who hasn't been a slave to bad habits? Who hasn't carelessly allowed bad habits to take deeper and deeper root in his or her mind and emotions?
Improving your life--physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually--is largely a matter of changing or overcoming bad habits. It is a matter of developing new, better and more dominating habit patterns of thinking, acting and feeling.
There are absolutely fundamental requirements and essential steps that must be applied to replace a bad habit with a good one. Many lose sight of such essential steps because of heavy demands on their minds or time or because of discouragement from past failures to overcome some nagging habit or vice.
The first law of changing any wrong habit is:
1. ADMIT WHAT YOU ARE DOING, OR THINKING OR FEELING IS WRONG AND HARMFUL. It is impossible to change without taking this step. So many fail because they never, deep down in their minds, squarely determine or admit what they are doing or thinking is wrong. They will not admit to themselves that they eat too much, or drink too much or are addicted in a damaging way to some practice or thinking. They justify their present ways and refuse to see any damage they are causing to themselves or others--until serious consequences strike them.
You--not someone else--must be convinced you should change! You must want to change a bad habit!
After this critical step is taken, other essential steps are required. You must then:
2. POWERFULLY RESOLVE TO CHANGE AND QUIT THE WRONG HABIT IMMEDIATELY. Don't put off a decision. You cannot expect success with a halfhearted or weak effort. You must be strongly motivated to change. Grasp the consequences or potential consequences if you don't change.
3. DEVELOP A CHANGE-OF-BEHAVIOR PLAN. This means:
Understand the influences or situations that spark old habit patterns and avoid them whenever possible.
Develop right and positive habits or thought patterns to replace the old damaging patterns. Repeat right patterns as often as you can. These soon replace the wrong pattern of acting or feeling. You can do this if the new pattern has some great value or reward, or if failure to do so means an unwanted result.
Don't try to taper off from a bad habit. (Only a few situations might dictate differently. For instance, some physically addicting drugs could cause serious bodily harm or even death if suddenly quit. Some serious problems need the assistance and guidance of properly qualified and knowledgeable persons.) Occasionally, giving in increases rather than decreases the persistence of an old habit. Recognize and control self-defeating thought or reasoning patterns. Such thinking may be, "It'll be OK, just this once!" or, "He does it, why can't I?" or, "Why deprive myself when there are so few pleasures in life?" Resolve not to start a pattern of giving way to pressures from friends or others. This is one of the toughest challenges in habit breaking. Keep your eyes on your goal.
Don't give in to your old habit--even once. You'll refire the old habit and get hooked again. Permissive thoughts and actions do count; it is like rewelding and energizing the old cables of habit. Yet if you do slip, don't get discouraged. It is difficult to break habits, to give up entrenched sins. Most people slip from time to time in the process of struggling against a bad habit. Get started again. Failure is certain only if you give up.
4. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IF NECESSARY TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABITS. It is not possible for this article to properly cover all the various kinds of damaging habits humans can fall prey to, and to cover the special considerations that may be necessary to deal with them. Sound health and financial, ministerial or other help may be needed. Various pamphlets or books dealing with specific kinds of physical problems are available and helpful.
There are absolutely fundamental requirements and essential steps that must be applied to replace a bad habit with a good one. Many lose sight of such essential steps because of heavy demands on their minds or time or because of discouragement from past failures to overcome some nagging habit or vice.
The first law of changing any wrong habit is:
1. ADMIT WHAT YOU ARE DOING, OR THINKING OR FEELING IS WRONG AND HARMFUL. It is impossible to change without taking this step. So many fail because they never, deep down in their minds, squarely determine or admit what they are doing or thinking is wrong. They will not admit to themselves that they eat too much, or drink too much or are addicted in a damaging way to some practice or thinking. They justify their present ways and refuse to see any damage they are causing to themselves or others--until serious consequences strike them.
You--not someone else--must be convinced you should change! You must want to change a bad habit!
After this critical step is taken, other essential steps are required. You must then:
2. POWERFULLY RESOLVE TO CHANGE AND QUIT THE WRONG HABIT IMMEDIATELY. Don't put off a decision. You cannot expect success with a halfhearted or weak effort. You must be strongly motivated to change. Grasp the consequences or potential consequences if you don't change.
3. DEVELOP A CHANGE-OF-BEHAVIOR PLAN. This means:
Understand the influences or situations that spark old habit patterns and avoid them whenever possible.
Develop right and positive habits or thought patterns to replace the old damaging patterns. Repeat right patterns as often as you can. These soon replace the wrong pattern of acting or feeling. You can do this if the new pattern has some great value or reward, or if failure to do so means an unwanted result.
Don't try to taper off from a bad habit. (Only a few situations might dictate differently. For instance, some physically addicting drugs could cause serious bodily harm or even death if suddenly quit. Some serious problems need the assistance and guidance of properly qualified and knowledgeable persons.) Occasionally, giving in increases rather than decreases the persistence of an old habit. Recognize and control self-defeating thought or reasoning patterns. Such thinking may be, "It'll be OK, just this once!" or, "He does it, why can't I?" or, "Why deprive myself when there are so few pleasures in life?" Resolve not to start a pattern of giving way to pressures from friends or others. This is one of the toughest challenges in habit breaking. Keep your eyes on your goal.
Don't give in to your old habit--even once. You'll refire the old habit and get hooked again. Permissive thoughts and actions do count; it is like rewelding and energizing the old cables of habit. Yet if you do slip, don't get discouraged. It is difficult to break habits, to give up entrenched sins. Most people slip from time to time in the process of struggling against a bad habit. Get started again. Failure is certain only if you give up.
4. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IF NECESSARY TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABITS. It is not possible for this article to properly cover all the various kinds of damaging habits humans can fall prey to, and to cover the special considerations that may be necessary to deal with them. Sound health and financial, ministerial or other help may be needed. Various pamphlets or books dealing with specific kinds of physical problems are available and helpful.
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