Christian Life Coaching - Breaking Free From Habits
by
Michael Young
We create habits to help us establish a familiar world,
and then rely on them to help us feel in control. We would probably
label these habits as “good habits. We all have habits or routines that
are part of who we are and what we do each day.
Most of our behavior is determined by our habits. But, what is a habit?
Organically, habits are formed through continuous, electrical impulse
messages to our mind, which the sensory nerves carry from our hearing,
touch, vision taste and smell to the data processing area of our brain
over our lifetime. Cognitively, habits are a recurrent, often
unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent
repetition, an established disposition of the mind or character.
It is important to admit that some of those habits are not good for us.
We all have habits or routines that are part of who we are and what we
do each day - but there may be times when we need to admit that some of
those habits are not good for us. Everyone has some habits in their
lives that robs their day-to-day lifestyle of a little (or a lot) of joy
You may recognize that to successfully manage habit changes, breaking
bad habits require replacing them with new good ones. Common bad habits
often include: over scheduling, over spending, over eating, and even
over analyzing. We often feel that we can't change an area because it is
a "habit," and stereotypically habits are hard to break.
Where do these habits come from? We train ourselves with bad habits as
written in 2 Peter 2:14, we are “insatiable for sin… [we] train our
hearts in greed.”
Bad habits are passed down from parents and grandparents. 1 Peter 1:18,
shows that the useless behavior patterns that were passed down from your
forefathers. But, when Christ frees you from them He makes it “possible
to live the remainder” of your life “no longer following human desires,
but following the will of God.”
We get them from association. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 15:33,
“Don’t be misled, bad companions corrupt good habits.” Further, he
notes, “There are some who, out of habit formed in idolatry, still eat
food as if it were offered to idols, and because their conscience is
weak, they are defiled.” So it is apparent that even after good habits
are developed being around those who are of contrary behavior can
destroy them.
What do we need to do about our habits?
5 steps to change an unhealthy habit to a healthy one
The first step in breaking a bad habit is to stop trying to break it and
create a plan to change it. A habit implies that a learning has resulted
in behavior that occurs so automatically that the person does not have
to plan this action or behavior. Often you are not even aware of what
you are doing until after it is done. You must set in place a method to
identify this undesirable behavior or action.
Two, the bad habit is like a hole in your personality. It needs to be
filled with something that is good and profitable. The Holy Spirit by
His Word trains “in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) so that new
practices become habits in place of old ones. Determine what you will do
in place of the habit you intend to change.
Three, the time when you are most likely to engage in bad habits is when
you are stressed, hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. You can remember this
with the acronym “Shalt” as in shalt not! Keep watch on these times as
this is when your will be most vulnerable.
Four, we were created to have relationships. Having someone you can be
real and honest with is extremely important in changing habits. Talk
with that person and ask them to keep you accountable regarding your
desired change. Ask them to question you about your progress in making
your change on a weekly basis.
Finally practice! Hebrews 5:14, reveals to us that a mature Christians
are “those whose faculties have been trained by practice to do
distinguish good from evil.” Establish a practice that exercises the
good replacement. . .Remember -- It took time to develop your bad habit,
so it will take time to replace it. Is there some habit or behavior that
you keep repeating and continually complain about it?
My guess is you are ready to change of your bad habits with good ones.
Do you want to learn how to other successful people do it? You can get
all the information you need to have a fantastic year right here.
About the Author
Michael Young M.Ed. Coach/Counselor. Michael has written and published articles and books on mastering time, perspective of money, improving relationships.