...And How to break them Dan Celentano
BAD HABITS AND HOW TO BREAK THEM by Dan Celentano
Permission for use of cartoons by Randy Glasberegen Randy Glasberegen glasvergen.com Book copyright Up To You Inc 2013
habit vs addiction
Before we begin, you need to understand the difference between a Habit and an Addiction. A Habit is a repeated routine of behavior that occurs regularly and is based more on wants rather than on needs. Whereas the body will create a mild reaction for a particular habit, for the most part, habits are more psychological than physical and can be dealt with by using a little common sense and a whole lot of desire. There may be times when you have struggled enough with your habit and seeking help is the best thing to do. However, if you work on it, you can eventually overcome a habit on your own. When the I want to have it becomes the I need to have it, than we re talking about addiction. An Addiction can be dealt with by using a little common sense, a whole lot of desire, help from others, and most of all, most of all, the need and courage enough to change.
Getting to The Source of the problem
The first thing you need to know in understanding how a habit works is this: Temptation is the root of all habits. Deal with the temptation, you deal with the habit. The best information I have ever read on the subject of temptation comes from a likely source, The Bible. Don t matter whether you re a Christian, non Christian or whatever, it is still the best lesson on the role Temptation plays in dealing with a habit. It goes like this: 14 But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin (your habit); (James 1:14-15) Let s break it down: 1. Every man is tempted when drawn away of his own lust and enticed... Verbally drawn away and enticed: Something you hear that taps into the habit you have or even a simple Urge from within to do something. For example, the urge to eat something fattening when you re on a diet. or Visually drawn away and enticed: Something you see that taps into the habit your have.
When the temptation you SEE or HEAR locks into the thing you re trying to quit (or as it s called in the bible verse, locks into your lust), it causes a mild chemical reaction in your body which is pleasurable. This in turn draws attention to your habit. 2. Then the lust, when it has conceived, (or better said, when it grows or gets stronger.) When you re drawn in (enticed) by what you see or hear, and you follow through on this temptation by dwelling on it in your mind (being conceived in your mind), your body chemistry will kick in again, but now is a little stronger. The more you dwell on the temptation, the more your body chemistry kicks in and entices you until it... 3....bears sin (or better said, you got sucked into doing your habit again ) So simply stated: Temptation comes Body chemistry kicks in a bit You dwell on the temptation in your mind Body chemistry kicks in again giving you an even more satisfying feeling This creates more temptation to do it Which excites the body even more Until your body almost feels like it s pulling you towards your habit. Letting Temptation have its way with you is called unchecked temptation
An example Eating Habit + Hot day and the urge kicks in to have an ice cream = Body gets a little excited but not big thing + while walking down the street you see someone eating your favorite ice cream + You stare a bit imagining you are eating one too = Body is stimulated again calling attention to your habit but you dismiss it one more time + You re coming to the store that sells your favorite ice cream = Body chemistry sets off those pleasurable urges again, but this time they re stronger + You imagine going in the store to buy one = The body is stimulated, once again a little stronger than before + As you come closer, you see someone coming out of the store eating your ice cream and you stare a bit, imagining how good it tastes as you wet your lips = the body chemistry kicks in but now has built up to such a powerful, pleasurable level that it urges, almost pushes you, into the store, until...= I ll take a double fudge dipped ice cream cone with extra sprinkles and extra fudge with a cherry. Ahh, make it a small one, I m on a diet.
breaking your habit
So, your habit begins by being tempted, and when tempted, your body mildly reacts, Stop here because it is here where you need to begin to deal with your habit. When you are first tempted and your body mildly reacts to this temptation, it is here you have a choice: 1. You can feed into this initial temptation (unchecked) or 2. You can adopt what is called Zero Tolerance. Let me explain. There are many teenagers who want to abstain from sex for example. More than you might think. They don t buy into the hype the media puts out and want to do the right thing instead.
Not an easy thing to do. All around you there is temptation. From TV to movies to billboards to magazines to just about everywhere. It s real easy for the body to kick in from this kind of temptation and just as easy to dwell on the thought and eventually give in. Especially in the teen years. So what do you do? All temptations develop in the mind, so you start there. By conditioning yourself to the fact that there will be ZERO TOLERANCE when allowing sexual images to develop in your mind, you stop your body chemistry from getting out of control. In other words, as soon as an image or picture or whatever even STARTS to come to mind, you wipe it out. You move on to something else. Even when the Urge to do something against your habit hints that it s going to kick in, you wipe it out. ZERO TOLERANCE When you're on the web, for example, and you come across some really sexually suggestive pictures, you don t dwell on them, you move on. simply put... You don t put yourself in situations either physically or mentally that will begin to feed into your habit.
One thing that you will surely need to establish ZERO TOLERANCE is Desire... How bad do you REALLY want to quit your habit? Bad enough to practice zero tolerance? ~ No matter what habit you have, ZERO TOLERANCE...YOU WIN. Bottom Line. Maybe that is something you want to remind yourself when the initial temptation strikes you and your body begins to react; ZERO TOLERANCE I Win I want TO WIN Question: If you practice ZERO TOLERANCE, does that mean you won't slip up? Of course not. It s called BEING HUMAN. But if you get back on your feet and you keep making the effort you can win. Even if you mistakingly give in to the temptation and allow negative thoughts to enter your mind, you can get back from where you started by dismissing any additional thoughts and resisting the much stronger urge the body now gives off. It all depends on how bad you want it.
summary
Another name for ZERO TOLERANCE is Self Control. Self Control is when your MIND CONTROLS YOUR BODY When Your body controls your mind, you usually end up getting into all kinds of trouble, one of which is having bad habits. Think about it.
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