Step by Step to a More Satisfying and Healthy Life **

"Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with", according to Brian Tracey, a well-known motivational teacher. But he also says, "Good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with".  If you're reading this article, you may have decided that it's time for you to make some changes in your life. 

Have you ever changed a habit in the past?  The steps you will find here for changing habits may seem familiar.  Perhaps you've actually used some of them.  Now they're all here in one neat list to support your on your way to a better lifestyle.

According to many experts, it takes only 21 days to break a habit.  When you make the decision to change habits, you will find that often it can be easier than you thought it might be.  As an example, at one point, I decided to give up chewing gum.  It was causing tooth and gum problems, plus, the sugar and colorings were unhealthy.  So, I became aware, made a decision to change, and then I committed to the change by taking action.  I found that substituting mouth spray stopped my craving for chewing gum and I did not give up my new actions until  the new habit was established.

At first, it was kind of a challenge to use the mouth spray instead of chewing the gum.  I had to remember to do it.  But over time it became much easier and finally, I no longer craved the gum at all.  The really exciting thing about changing habits is that as soon as the new habit is established, you'll never have to think about it again.  You will simply continue to "do" the new habit year after year until you decide to change it again.

6 Tips for Changing Habits

1.  Become aware of the habit:  Awareness is crucial for breaking bad habits, if you're not aware of what you're doing, then nothing can change.  Noticing that you do something regularly that you may want to change is the beginning of the process for changing habits.  Your habit may also be affecting others in a negative way which may give you additional impetus for changing it (smoking is a good example).

2.  Changing is a matter of making a decision:  Sometimes you will be willing to decide to change a habit and sometimes you won't.  If you have a health problem, it's a good idea to look at any resistance you may have to changing your habits.  Eating or drinking the wrong things can have serious consequences which may drive you to think about changing.  Once you've made the decision to change, your direction becomes clear.

3.  Make a commitment to change:  Here's the hard part of changing habits - making a commitment.  That means, you will do whatever it takes to let go of your old behavior and to introduce new behaviors that serve you better.  You've looked at your old habit and you now see that it's time to do something different.

4.  Continue to take daily action:  Habits are with you every minute of every day, even when you aren't thinking about them or doing them.  This is because when you're not thinking, when the time comes, you will act out your old habit unless you have vowed to take consistent daily action to change. 

The best way to do this is one hour or one day at a time rather than thinking about all the days you will have to be different.  Often, not smoking just this one cigarette is possible and reasonable, while not smoking for the rest of your life may send you straight to your pack of cigarettes! You may find that simply stopping the old habit is easier than letting go gradually or vice versa.

Every time you take another step toward breaking the habit, give yourself a small reward. As you take your daily actions to your new habit, remember that consistency is critical.  Taking an occasional action will not work.

5.  Try a healthier substitute for the old habit.  Sometimes it's easier to substitute something else for the old habit instead of trying to get rid of it entirely.  Often, you may find you're attached to the process involved in the habit.  For example, I love having a warm drink in the morning so I substituted tea (a type I really like) for coffee.  That way, I still got my warm satisfying drink. 

Here are some more examples:  Herbal tea instead of coffee, a mouth spray or chewing gum instead of smoking, raw fruit instead of candy, lemonade made with fresh lemons and lo-cal sweetener rather than soda.

6.  Don't give up:  As you go through these steps, you may find yourself wondering whether all this effort is worth it.  You may think that changing habits is too hard or that you don't have the strength to change.  In this case, you're just coming up against resistance, which is often called the "comfort zone". 

You may ask yourself "Who will I be when I change this habit?"  Just be prepared for this to happen, if it doesn't, great, but if it does, just keep on making the changes you've been making one minute/hour/day at a time.  Interestingly, the resistance often goes away when you are really committed.  If things seem tough, try using prayer or meditation, both have helped many people to get through difficult periods in their lives.  

Another technique that can really be helpful is visualization - imagine yourself with your new habit, imagine that it is easy and pleasant to make the change.  Often when you're stuck this technique can really make the difference.  Think of the value to your life of having good habits that keep you healthy. 

Getting support from friends and loved ones can help you as you go through the process of change.  Ask the people close to you to support you on your path.  Another technique that can help is affirmations.  Make up several to use during the day such as "I now drink herbal tea every morning" if you're giving up coffee or "I really enjoy my morning cup of herbal tea". You can also use affirmations relating to resistance such as "I find myself changing my habits effortlessly".

Try these 6 Tips to Create
New Healthy Living Habits

Now that you have this 6-step process for changing habits you may want to try it on many different habits.  Try to limit your changes to one habit at a time.  That way, you can focus all your attention on just the one to help ensure success. 

If you are addicted to alcohol, smoking or other things, you may find that these steps are not enough.  In that case, you might want to get professional help or find a support group that is working on your issue.  But in many cases, these 6 steps should give you the results you want.

**If you decide to change a habit that could affect your blood sugar or diabetes medication, always talk with your doctor.

T. McDonald is a lifelong student of alternative health, goal setting and inner growth.