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Break that Habit

Have you ever found yourself reacting in a negative way to a certain comment, a particular person, or a particular situation?  It could be seeing a look on someone’s face, or hearing an angry tone in someone’s voice, or seeing a crowd of people that trigger’s you to react in the same habitual way before you realise.

Everyone has habits, both good and bad. When you can recognise the habits that disempower you and hold you back from achieving success, then you are in a better position to do something about them, to change them. Unfortunately some people just accept their habits as being part of them - “that’s how I am”, you may have heard some say.

Yes, we are hardwired a certain way, and the good news is that we can change our programming.

Change can be challenging, especially if they do not have a strong enough ‘why’ - they are not fully aware of what the bad habit is costing them, or what they can gain from changing the habit.

What kind of hidden habits am I talking about? Mood changes in response to certain triggers eg shrinking into one’s shell when faced with conflict; getting angry when someone stands up to you; getting upset with any piece of feedback, etc. Everything might be going wonderful in your day and then there is a trigger and you can’t help but follow the same script that you have for years.

People laugh when a hypnotist gets people to do crazy things in response to a word or sound - but this is going on every day in your life! It is automatic and you do it without thinking. Arrive home end of the day and you reach straight for a beer or turn on the television.

Have you identified what habits you have that are limiting you or holding you back? That’s the first step. Be aware of what you want to change.

How do you change? Visualise yourself doing something different. Rehearse it over and over so that when you next encounter the trigger your new response is programmed in. You will want to rehearse it completely associated into the scene, so it is like you are there seeing it through your own eyes. You can also do some rehearsal watching yourself in the picture responding in the new ideal way.

Working with a coach who uses hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques can speed up this process, but if you are committed to changing and visualise enough, you should be able to manage it yourself.

Some habits may be more firmly ingrained, and there may be a part of you that want to keep the bad habit. Usually there is some benefit to these bad habits - otherwise you wouldn’t do them. For example, hitting the snooze button when the alarm goes off gives you extra sleep, even though it stops you from getting up and going for a walk or stretch. If you need extra sleep, then go to bed 15 minutes early, so that you have no excuses to get up.
There are some great techniques to work with ‘parts’ that sabotage you, but for a start, find out what the part wants for you, and find a better way to achieve that. I may have simplified this, but at least it gives you something to do on your own, if you don’t want to seek out a coach.

Lastly, if you are going to make changes, just work on one habit as a time. We don’t want to scare your inner mind and set up any kind of resistance. If you can make a small change today, what would it be. A little bit every day, can make a big difference over a year.  
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by Annette Lynch

About the author:

Annette Lynch (formerly Huygens-Tholen) is a Success coach, NLP Practitioner, Author and Speaker/Educator helping individuals to change their lives through strengthening Personal Leadership. Achieving a dream to be an Olympian in 2000, Annette then learnt to overcome her greatest challenge - life after sport. By studying and applying the mindset skills and attitudes of sport into the game of life, Annette has transformed not only her life, but thousands of others in UK, USA, Aus and NZ through coaching and training.
Her book, "Success beyond Sport" teaches the 8 Winning Points for leading oneself to success - emotionally and financially. For more information on Annette and how to create success in your life visit www.annetteffect.com 

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