Breaking Patterns
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In life, we develop habits that shape the quality of life. These habits can be good or bad and may create behavioral patterns. How do we know which these habits are? We just need to take a look into our responses to situations regarding our relationships, transitions, goals, or life in general. Do we tend to repeat the same behavior over and over? Do we wonder why we tend to do the same thing even knowing it is not conducive to a positive outcome?
If that is your situation you may have developed a habit which may need your attention. The good news is that you may transform your bad habit into a positive one. It takes 21 days to break a bad habit or develop a new one. What about if you give it a try?
I invite you to write down outcomes in your life which you are not happy about and see if you have developed a pattern in your actions. Remember to revise all your dimensions. Those of you who have worked with me individually or have attended any of my seminars, know that I always include the four dimensions: physical, social, emotional, or spiritual to evaluate the quality of your life.
Once you have identified a pattern, visualize the new habit you want to acquire and focus on the new outcome. Pay attention to each time your old habit is triggered. Take a pause before acting and notice what you are thinking. It may just start by changing your thought process. There are several ways to change a habit. For example, there is a technique we use in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) which is called “Swish” and it helps to destroy the old habit and establish a new one. http://www.manifestation.com/neurotoys/swish.php3
The philosophy behind NLP is that as human beings we are moved either by pain or pleasure. As Robert Kilgore says: Two of the main principles of NLP are "We Will Do More to Avoid Pain Than to Obtain Pleasure" and "We Move Toward Pleasure and Away From Pain."
What makes it more interesting is there are two types of people. Those, whose actions are motivated by staying away from pain and others who move towards pleasure. Which kind of person are you? This could give you insights for discovering your behavioral patterns.
The more we know about ourselves the better we can understand our own behaviors.
If we do not understand ourselves, then how would other people understand us?
And Remember...Your Life has Meaning!
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