It’s a new year and
with it many people make all sorts of promises to improve aspects of their
lives-stop smoking, eat healthier, exercise more etc. etc. If this sounds like
something you’re trying to do, and are finding it’s not working out so well,
consider what you’ve done to get rid of cues that encourage you to continue a
behavior your trying to change or eliminate.
NPR ran a story this
past week “What Heroin Addiction Tells Us About Changing Bad Habits.” While 20% of American soldiers in Vietnam were addicted to heroin, only 5%
continued the habit after returning to the United States. The reason: when they
returned to the US, the environment was completely differently. In short, to sustain
change, one possible answer is to change the environment in some way.
Consider the
following:
• Identify the
cues that might trigger the behavior you want to change, such as having a
cigarette with a cup of coffee. Once you figure out what they are, figure out reasonable
substitutions. So instead of that first cup of coffee of the day, drink a cup
of tea, go for a short walk, do Qigong etc.
• Who do you spend
time with? We adopt many of the habits of the people we spend time with. While you
can reduce or even eliminate spending time with people that encourage you in
negative behaviors, you can also try to enlist them in helping you.
• Check out the
following posts:
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