Change your Habits, Change Your Life!

As 2022 comes to an end and the New Year is upon is, many of us are considering how we can improve our lives and become a better version of ourselves.

Today we might be sitting with our shiny new diary or journal, or a beautiful 2022 calendar full of inspiring affirmations, in the hope it will inspire us to lead healthier, happier, more fulfilling and successful life. But the single biggest thing that we can do to change our lives for the better and really smash our goals is to change our habits.

What we habitually do is who we will ultimately become. Our daily physical habits are our metaphysical destiny. In fact, research would suggest that approximately 95% of the things people do daily are purely habitual.

From the spiritual perspective, I always look to archetype of The Archer in the Wildwood Tarot deck as the positive symbology to help me break bad habits and create new, better ones. The Archer is a genuinely motivating card that symbolizes strength, direction, aim and focus. When it comes to habits, it reminds us to focus on the positive ones and that by doing so, we will achieve our goals by hitting our target. Gaze upon his symbology, and it should help give you the strength to do so.

For example, I am a chocoholic, the results of which is clearly evident around my middle-aged waistline! How do I personally break the habit of a lifetime and develop a healthier relationship with chocolate? Well, the guidelines are the same for any other goal we may have:

Remove The Temptation

As the saying goes: ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ My household will therefore be seeing far less sugar in the kitchen cupboards in 2022. This may seem somewhat an extreme measure, but it may help to change my family’s nutritional habits for the better. It is not so easy to maintain a sweet tooth when there is nothing to reaching out for to serve as a reward or an emotional crutch.

By developing and practising good habits each day, you affirm that you do have control over the very core of your life in the midst of the chaos ~ Stephen Guise

Focus On The Rewards

As human beings, we feel the need to be rewarded. Breaking a bad habit, for some people, however, can seem akin to being denied a particular pleasure. Furthermore, when we feel that we are being denied something, we can naturally want to compensate ourselves, which can lead us back into the bad habit.

A new habit needs to be associated with some form of reward. Both good and bad habits form because there is a ‘pay-off.’ Rather than getting into a negative cycle, look for a better reward instead. My rewards are about feeling slimmer, becoming fitter, becoming healthier, and even an improved bank balance due to fewer visits to the dentist! Focus on the reward and what it will offer you, should help you remain disciplined on reaching your goals.

Determine Your Triggers

To change a bad habit, we must also  determine the emotions that created it in the first place. For myself, it ranges from anxiety to excitement that can all prompt me to reach for another chocolate bar. Therefore, I need to look at the ‘cues’ that prompt my habit.

Identifying the cues and positively dealing with it can help to effectively break a bad habit and build a new, better one. If stress, for example, prompts you to carry out the bad habit, then it is the stress itself that you need to deal with. Working on the cause can organically help to break the bad habit and thus create a new one that serves you far better.

For countless people, New Year’s Eve is the re-start of many old habits. Millions of people will voice New Year’s resolutions in one night, and within the week over 75% will have broken them ~ Sumner M. Davenport

Watch Your Thoughts

Proverbs 23:7 says, ‘As a man thinks, so he is.’ There is no doubt much truth to this. In spiritual terms, our thoughts about ourselves attract our life experience. Therefore, if we honestly believe we can break a bad habit, then we will succeed, and vice versa.

The supermarket magnate Frank Outlaw once said, “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” As long as our beliefs are good to start with, we cannot only get rid of bad habits but, also cultivate better ones and live a life of value by doing so.

Take The Spiritual Approach

Spiritual practice can be powerful in breaking bad habits. it can take the form of meditation, prayer, chanting, energy healing, and so on. Listening to inspirational podcasts (one of my personal favorites), reading motivational books, connecting with our angels and guides, employing the services of a spiritual wellness coach, practicing affirmations, and journaling our successes are all great resources. Finding the right ‘tribe’ of like-minded people who support and empower us to believe in ourselves can also be very beneficial.