{"id":1369,"date":"2017-11-11T14:50:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T14:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/blog\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2018-06-14T01:15:18","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T01:15:18","slug":"how-to-kick-your-bad-habits-to-the-curb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/how-to-kick-your-bad-habits-to-the-curb","title":{"rendered":"How To Kick Your Bad Habits To The Curb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Author of <strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video2\">Manifestation Miracle<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><em><strong>Do you want to unlock your inner power to <strong>manifest the life<\/strong> you&#8217;ve been dreaming of? Don&#8217;t forget to check out the\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video2\"><em>Manifestation Miracle<\/em><\/a>\u00a0program&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h2>How To Kick Your Bad Habits To The Curb<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ve always found that learning is one of the <strong>most amazing<\/strong> journeys in life. The biggest reason is that it\u2019s a never-ending process.<\/p>\n<p>Just when you think you <em>know enough<\/em> about something, a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">new<\/span> bit of wisdom comes your way. It adds to what you already know and it <strong>enriches<\/strong> your life even more.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how I felt recently about meditation. Mindfulness exercises (what meditation is mostly about) are something I like to practice as much as I can, daily if possible.<\/p>\n<p>The act of sitting down and focusing your thoughts on nothing but the <strong>present moment<\/strong> helps quiet my mind.<\/p>\n<p>This is especially useful for <strong>reducing stress<\/strong> and giving you peace of mind &#8211; which is why I\u2019m a big fan of it.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, I stumbled on a TED talk that offers another look at <strong>mindfulness<\/strong> and how you can use it in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">other<\/span> ways.<\/p>\n<p>Psychiatrist Judson Brewer talks about how habits start &#8211; be it good or bad &#8211; and how to use the power of mindfulness to break them.<\/p>\n<p>He calls it \u201cA simple way to break a bad habit\u201d \u2013 check it out here:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-moW9jvvMr4?rel=0?showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He breaks down the step of developing a habit into three steps, which are: <strong>trigger, behavior, reward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, you already know how this process goes, but on a <em>subconscious<\/em> level.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the habit of eating starts with hunger. This is the natural <strong>urge<\/strong> to consume calories to live.<\/p>\n<p>So, that urge triggers you to satisfy your hunger by indulging in a certain <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">behavior<\/span>, which is eating. And once you\u2019ve acted out that behavior, you\u2019re <em><strong>rewarded<\/strong> <\/em>by different sensations.<\/p>\n<p>That includes feeling sated, or full. So your mind learns to remember this <strong>pleasurable behavior<\/strong> and do the same thing in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the time, you\u2019re <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not consciously<\/span> aware of what\u2019s going on. You keep repeating the cycle of habit because your brain likes to run to on <strong>auto-pilot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This is fine when if it\u2019s something positive, like grooming or working out. But other habits like smoking or overeating <strong>don\u2019t add value<\/strong> to your life, and in fact, can shorten it.<\/p>\n<p>So the most interesting part for me was to learn that the simple practice of mindfulness can help people <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">break<\/span> the behavior\/reward cycle.<\/p>\n<p>According to Judson, you can do this by <strong>heightening your awareness<\/strong>. He says we should be mindful of what\u2019s happening to us while doing a habit (or feeling the urge to do it).<\/p>\n<p>As he eloquently puts it, <em>\u201cSeeing clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors, becoming <strong>disenchanted<\/strong> on a visceral level, and from this disenchanted stance, naturally <strong>letting go<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This <strong>hit home <\/strong>for me<strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0I knew mindfulness was a great practice, didn\u2019t realize how <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">much more<\/span> useful it could be.<\/p>\n<p>If I had known about this before, it would have been way easier for me to get over some nasty habits in my life, like watching too much TV.<\/p>\n<p>But in any case, this was a nice discovery which adds <strong>another dimension<\/strong> to my personal meditation routine. The implication of this approach is that you <strong>don\u2019t<\/strong> have to fight these urges <strong>head-on<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of butting heads with your habit, there&#8217;s a better way to <em>break the spell<\/em>. You can break down your urges and simply observe how they make you <strong>feel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>That demystifies the whole cycle of addiction to bad habits. This is important because most people <strong>feel helpless<\/strong> against their urges.<\/p>\n<p>And in turn, they seem <strong>terrifying<\/strong> to those who don\u2019t see through the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">illusion of control<\/span> these destructive behaviors have in our lives.<\/p>\n<p>And when I dug deeper into the topic, I also learned there\u2019s a thing called \u201curge surfing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As it happens, it also uses mindfulness to deal with bad habits. The idea is for you to <strong>\u201cride out\u201d<\/strong> these urges until they subside and no longer feel them.<\/p>\n<p>Like a surfer riding the waves, your goal is to go with the ebb and flow of your urges &#8211; <strong>not against it<\/strong>. This helps you stay on top instead of letting the waves <strong>consume<\/strong> you.<\/p>\n<p>And like Judson says, being in controls starts with simply being aware of what\u2019s going on <strong>in your body<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>When you take a step back and observe your <strong>visceral reactions<\/strong> and sensations\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2026you can <strong>control<\/strong> these urges &#8211; <strong>not<\/strong> the other way around.<\/p>\n<p>So keep this in mind the next time you feel a bad habit of yours trying to keep you in its grasp. Avoid thoughts like, \u201cI need to fight this urge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Focus on <strong>observing your feelings<\/strong>, nothing else.<\/p>\n<p>Acknowledge those <strong>bodily sensations<\/strong> you\u2019re experiencing. Think about what <strong>triggers<\/strong> your urges in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Then think about the guilt you feel and the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">negative consequences<\/span> of that bad habit.<\/p>\n<p>You can make a breakthrough by <strong>logically breaking down<\/strong> the trigger\/behavior\/reward cycle. Do this enough times, and it leads to disenchantment or disillusionment.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly, all those <strong>supposed benefits<\/strong> from your bad habits <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">won\u2019t<\/span> seem so appealing to you anymore. And personal growth starts with these moments of heightened <strong>awareness and realization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>We could all use more moments like these because they can help us <strong>break out<\/strong> of the destructive patterns in our lives.<\/p>\n<p>Not long ago, I felt <em>burned out<\/em> from all the stuff on my mind that was weighing me down. I would wake up in the morning and immediately feel that <strong>dread<\/strong> from having to deal with the day ahead.<\/p>\n<p>I was overworked, deep in debt and relied on medication to deal with my anxiety. But I learned how to <strong>disrupt<\/strong> the negative behaviors that kept me in that dark place.<\/p>\n<p>I was already practicing the Law of Attraction then, but I couldn\u2019t get it to work for me for some reason. Then I came across a simple psychological technique.<\/p>\n<p>This became the <strong>missing piece<\/strong> of the manifestation puzzle that was stumping me for the longest time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/index-written.php\">You can find out how I did it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After making that key shift in my life, things were never the same again \u2013 and I mean that in a <strong>good<\/strong> way&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Yours in happiness and prosperity,<\/p>\n<p>Heather Matthews<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video\">Click HERE to learn how to FORCE the Universe to give you everything you&#8217;ve ever wanted\u2026and MORE!<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2436 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2.jpg\" alt=\"Manifestation Miracle Video\" width=\"933\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2.jpg 933w, https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2-768x346.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author of Manifestation Miracle Do you want to unlock your inner power to manifest the life you&#8217;ve been dreaming of? Don&#8217;t forget to check out the\u00a0Manifestation Miracle\u00a0program&#8230; How To Kick Your Bad Habits To The Curb I\u2019ve always found that learning is one of the most amazing journeys in life&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-inspiration","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1369"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3006,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions\/3006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}