Who’s in Charge? You, Or Your Habits?
I just returned from an incredibly inspiring 3-day conference, connecting with fellow coaches and healers and learning solid strategies for up-leveling my business and my life. It was called EMPOWER, and I’ve got to say I returned home—just in time to catch the full moon eclipse—feeling Empowered!
The whole thing seemed divinely guided… the event took place in Atlanta which is a bit of a ways from San Miguel de Allende. I had no idea why I felt I should go.But the nudge was strong, almost like a loud voice yelling, “get yourself to that event!”
I’ve learned over the years not to ignore those nudges, and that they are precious messengers from my intuition and inner guidance. I realize now that all the big turning points and great decisions of my life have come from those nudges that seemed so far-fetched and ridiculous I almost didn’t follow them.
If it weren’t for listening to one of those nudges I would never have ended up here in this magical city of San Miguel de Allende, where my sense of possibility has expanded in ways I could never had dreamed!
But… I digress. Today I wanted to talk a bit about habits.
I returned home all motivated to make some adjustments to the ways I spend my days, and to prioritize what really matters most to achieve my overall vision.
And… pretty much immediately, a few old habits poked up their heads and got in the way.
Like hitting snooze instead of getting up at the time I decided, or clicking over to Facebook when I start second-guessing something I’m writing.
Sound familiar?
We all have habits and routines, and they often can be quite helpful and useful. They can keep us clean, healthier, and free up our brains for deeper thinking.
And yet, sometimes these very routines can keep us rooted in an identity we’re wanting to grow out of. Plus, most of us have old entrenched habits that seem to ‘take over’, preventing us from starting up a new behavior or habit that will move us forward in our goals and intentions.
In these cases it can seem like your habits are in control of YOU, instead of the other way around!
Joe Dispenza is one of my favorite writers and thinkers on this subject. I’ve written about Joe’s work before, and I had the good fortune of getting to see him in action on stage last summer in Mexico City. He wrote a book called Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself—which can literally change your life.
(Now, I never loved this title till I actually cracked the book. Here’s where I tell that story.)
I highly recommend this book if you feel that your old habits sometimes take the controls in hour life!
A great (and fairly short) video featuring Joe came across my feed recently, and re-inspired me to get proactive in choosing my own habits and behaviors, rather than just going with the default. If you’re not up for a book quite yet, definitely give this a view. Totally worth watching. Check it out HERE.
If you’re longing for a life reinvention, and wanting to resuscitate some dreams, this stuff is SO important. Because on a deeper level habit change is about identity shifting.
Ask yourself: WHO is this person I will become when I’m living this dream?How does she (or he) spend her time? Is it hitting snooze? Surfing Instagram for an hour? Standing at the kitchen counter wolfing down lunch? Reaching for a second cupcake?
If she is doing something different, take out your journal and just let the words flow as you imagine what she IS doing
It’s a powerful exercise and even more powerful motivation!
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
