Image courtesy of MBB

First and foremost, what are bad habits? And what are good habits? While there may be universal codes for good and bad habits, good and bad habits are subjective. They exist based on individual’s perspectives and interpretations. The one thing that is for sure is that bad habits take away from the quality of life you lead and good habits add to the quality of life you lead. So whatever you deem bad and good habits, you want to ensure you break the bad and develop the good.

Understanding How Habits are Formed and Why

Habit formation provides the basis for any activity from the micro to the macro-level. We develop habits – both good and bad – through the repetition of certain behaviors that result in the etching of neural pathways in the mind. These neural pathways are the mind’s way of reducing its overall workload; it’s the way the mind puts things into autopilot.

(Bear with us as we delve into a bit of Psychology in order to help you understand what’s causing the problem, so we can then find the solution.)

Part of what makes us who we are is the interaction that goes on in our minds. Our mind is a very complex system of interacting components and parts. One of the major interactions that occurs within the mind is within the Psychic Apparatus, a term coined by the late Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology. This apparatus is made up of three parts. Let’s take a look at each:

The Three Parts of the Psychic Apparatus – The Id, Ego, and Superego

These three parts are working in conjunction with one another to help you make your daily decisions and they’re the basis for the thoughts that you have in both your subconscious and conscious mind. However, the interaction between the three involves some push-and-pull.

The Id

The Id operates on the pleasure principle and it’s a purely subconscious component of the mind. It’s the part that we’re born with. It’s basal; instinctual. It’s what makes us want to eat, defecate, and procreate. It gives us urges that are interlaced with our DNA. But, the Id – if left unchecked, is also the part of us that makes developing new and empowering habits very difficult. The Id basically tells us to indulge in whatever guilty pleasure we might want to indulge in – without any conscious thought to it.

The Superego

On the opposite side of the Id is the Superego. The superego is the part of us that acts as our moral compass. It’s what is developed through our upbringing. Through the guidance of our parents or guardians, our Superegos develop into what helps keep us in check and not “cross the line” – helping to instill guilt in us when we do end up doing something wrong. If you’ve ever indulged in something that you knew you shouldn’t have indulged in, it was your Superego that made you feel guilty afterwards. So, when the Id is urging us to do something based on pleasure, the Superego is urging us to be more cautious.

The Ego

Now, the tug-of-war that goes on between these two components – the Id and the Superego – is r e f e r e e d by the Ego. Yes, the Ego is what helps you to decide which way you’ll go, how you will act. Will you indulge, succumbing to temptations, or will you play it safe and steady, keeping your pleasure instinct in check?

The Ego is also steeped in the reality principle. It wants to give you what you want, but it wants to do it within the confines of your reality. So, if it’s weight loss you’re after, the Ego seeks out some solution that will help you satisfy the instant pleasure of the Id while doing so within reality. This is why so many of us turn to fad weight-loss diets and get-rich-quick schemes. It’s the Ego trying to satisfy the urges of the Id while also giving us what we want.

So, how are we supposed to overcome our natural tendencies to do things we know are detrimental to us, and not do things we know would help empower us?

By Overriding our Internal Psychology

Breaking Bad Habits and Developing Good Habits by Overriding Our Internal Psychology

Developing good habits and breaking bad ones involve first building an awareness towards the self-talk in your mind. Although you can’t hear what goes on in your subconscious mind, you can feel your emotions. Your emotions are the antenna to your mind. When we think of something, and that thought is prevalent and overpowering, we experience a certain set of emotions. By paying close attention to our emotions we can access those prevalent thoughts, and channel those thoughts to serve us in our creation of good habits.

Secondly, start making it a habit to not move or take any action without first giving conscious thought to what you are going to do. This takes discipline, but we have proven here at My Blooming Biz that it can absolutely be done. In fact, most of the women who participate in our personal growth and development programs, confirm that they were successful because they worked at mastering their thought processing and aligning it with the desired actions they want in order to get the results they need for their overall improvement. Knowing what you’re going to do, before physically moving is key in breaking bad habits and forming new ones.

And finally, after working on your awareness and developing the strategy to shift your focus before physically moving, the next important step in building a new habit is remaining consistent on your new path. As with anything else, discarding old habits and instituting new ones will require some discipline – especially in the beginning, as well as persistence to keep following through until you have eliminated the old habit and developed the new. You can create a buzz word for every time you are about to move without thinking. A few of our Power Circle women attested to this actually working for them, and we always recommend using whatever tools work to help us achieve whatever we are pursuing.

Additional Tools to Help Ensure You Follow Through With Breaking the Bad Habits & Employing the Good

1. Focus on one habit at a time.

2. Set a start date and ensure you start then.

3. Set a baseline metric for the incremental change.

4. Seek out an accountability partner, or publicize to your support system.

5. Keep an accountability journal.

6. Use sticky reminders to help you stay the course.

Oftentimes, to develop good habits we not only have to break bad habits, but we also have to override our natural urges to do or not do something. These urges are built into us and make overriding habitual behavior that’s built through years of repetition, incredibly difficult. It’s clear that breaking bad habits and instilling good ones pose an enormous hurdle, but it is totally possible. Documenting your journey and keeping a record, as well as telling others about your quest is a huge motivator. Don’t take these two steps lightly! They work!

So, the important things to remember are: 1) awareness, 2) becoming conscious before physically moving, and 3) remaining consistent. When we don’t have awareness, we’re simply a pawn to the chess game going on in our own minds. We’ll continue to do things without even being aware of it. We’ll light a cigarette without knowing, reach for a candy bar without thinking, turn on the television without even being conscious of the actions – all because these acts are habitually carved into the neural pathways of the mind. Habits are formed; and since this is the case, after a while of consciously and mindfully reforming your habits, your old habits will dissipate and your new habits will be developed.

With love, gratitude, and empowered attitude,