“Habits are patterns, and even the smallest ones tell a lot about who you are as a person.” ― Jarod Kintz
Habits are actions that you perform so often, they become a part of a routine. Humans naturally tend to gravitate towards the familiar. Daily routines like what side of the bed you sleep on, how you make your coffee or your nightly glass of merlot are all behaviors that become habits as they are repeated regularly. You may not even recognize them because they become automatic, but habits can have a big impact on your life.
“We are what we repeatedly do.” – Sean Covey via @Terri_Cole (Click to Tweet!)
Many people have what they consider “harmless” habits. These are behaviors that fall into a grey area on the spectrum from healthy to unhealthy. It could be daily alcohol consumption, online shopping, social media engagement or a host of other behaviors that have become so accepted that it can be difficult to distinguish between compulsion and choice.
Harmless habits may be socially acceptable, but on closer inspection they may not be positive or healthy for you.
Honestly assessing how your habits are impacting your life is a part of living mindfully and evolving. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.” What you do daily has a profound effect on who you become and what kind of destiny you create.
The greater danger in harmless habits is that they can become, what I call, Shadow Addictions. These are habitual behaviors that do not necessarily interfere with ordinary life responsibilities, but if you are compelled to the behavior or it negatively impacts the quality of your inner or outer life, then you have a problem.
If you ever feel like you absolutely can’t (and don’t want to) skip your nightly glass of wine, daily workout or online poker game, then your habit may have more of a hold on you than you realize.
While these behaviors may seem innocent enough, if left unexamined shadow addictions can escalate to full blown addictions and wreck havoc on your happiness, health and life.
In order to take control of your habits or shadow addictions you must first be aware of them. If any part of this post resonates with you, let’s go one step further. Take an honest inventory of habits or behaviors you may be using to mood alter or numb your feelings. Once you have the list you can choose to be mindful of what you are doing. At the end of a long day, instead of allowing yourself to automatically reach for the wine or food, commit to stopping and asking yourself a few questions first.
- How am I feeling?
- What do I really need right now?
- Why do I want to numb out right now?
Your answers may surprise you. Raising your awareness about what is driving your behavior is the beginning of making different more empowered choices about how to handle your feelings.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s one harmless habit you want to break? Drop a line in the comments below and we’ll be sure to support and cheer you on. Breaking habits isn’t alway easy but it can be done. With a decision and commitment you can pave the way to a happier and healthier you.
Have a great weekend mindfully choosing your actions and as always, take care of you.
Love Love Love
Terri
Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, transformation coach, and an expert at turning fear into freedom. Sign up for Terri’s weekly Tune Up Tips and follow her on Twitter.
Image courtesy of Julien Sanine.
