How Changing Bad Habits Can Positively Change Your Life

Everyone has bad habits. Some people smoke, some binge eat and some might even engage in self-destructive behavior. These habits are often deeply ingrained into one's personality, to the point of becoming the traits by which many define themselves. If you want to change the course of your life you have to learn how to change these bad habits. Although it is an often long and difficult process the results will allow you to succeed where you may have otherwise failed. The steps below can help you learn how to identify, confront and eventually eliminate the habits that might control your life.

Changing Your Habits

Your bad habits are often part of who you are. You might make excuses for them, embrace them or even get a bit prickly when others bring them up. In reality though, these are not just habits -- they are a failing. They might be holding you back from achieving success in business, your social life or even love. Embracing your bad habits means simply learning how to live with what is going wrong, but eliminating them means that you are willing to make a positive change in your own life. There is nothing that says that this is easy, of course, but you should be willing to try it. After all, getting rid of your bad habits is one of the few ways that you can control your own life.

What Does It Mean To Get Rid of Bad Habits?

Getting rid of bad habits is more than just eliminating a negative behavior. To truly break yourself of a bad habit you have to learn how to make an effective change in your life. If you fail to do so you might replace your current bad habit with one that is just as bad. Or worse, you might even find yourself slipping back into old habits without giving yourself a chance to change. Instead, you must consider breaking yourself of bad habits to be a journey that will allow you to understand not only what you are doing wrong, but also to understand why you have made the choices that you have made. While this is not always a pleasant experience it can help you to change your life for the better.

How To Make A Change

The process of changing bad habits is one of small steps. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to figure out why you do what you do. Take the time to log your bad habits, noting both the time and what preceded the action. If your bad habit is late-night snacking, try to get an idea of the situation in which it occurs. Do you snack because you are hungry, or because you are stressed? If you know why you undertake the behavior you are more likely to be able to change it.

After you figure out the "why" you can move on to making a change. Sometimes, the mere knowledge of the behavior will be enough to break the habit. For others, it will take greater discipline. Try giving yourself a small reward when you go a day without performing the habit. Or try to take time to replace the bad habit with something positive. If you like to smoke in the morning, for example, you might be better served by going for a run. Changing the behavior is a key to controlling your life.

What Happens After The Change?

The real question when making any kind of life change is whether the effort is worth it. For most, eliminating a bad habit can have one of many possible side effects. You might eliminate a habit that costs you money, or you might eliminate something that allows you a better chance to excel at work. You might become more attractive to the opposite sex in some cases and you might learn to have a better opinion of yourself in others. No matter the specific change, though, you will be engaging in a process that will allow you to have greater control of your own life. You may think that you are only eliminating a problem habit, but the reality of the situation is that you are taking the first steps on a path to greater personal success.
 

5 Common Mistakes in Setting Personal Goals

 
Setting personal development goals is important since it creates a clear 

direction of where your life should be heading. Goals encourage you to grow and 

become the person that you want to be. They help you achieve things that you 

probably think impossible for you to achieve. If you don't have your own set of 

goals, you might spend the rest of your life fulfilling the goals of the people 

around you.
 
However, you need to be very careful when setting goals for yourself. If you 

don't do it right, it is more likely that you will only be wasting your time and efforts. If you want to create significant changes in your life, you have to 

avoid the common goal setting mistakes listed below.
 
 1. Not putting your goals in writing. Just like any other things, writing your 

goals down allows you to remember them easily. It will also help you keep your 

focus on what you really want instead of the random things that come to your mind

every single day. It gives certain clarity on what you have to achieve, allowing you to come up with better strategies for success.
 
 2. Not creating a system for remembering your goals. Although, writing down 

goals is a good start, you need to have a system for remembering them. You need 

to be constantly reminded of the things that you have to do. One way of doing 

this is by writing your goals on a piece of paper. Then, put that paper where you

can always see it such as on your bathroom door, work/study table or computer 

monitor.
 
 3. Not setting specific or clear goals. The rule in effective goal setting is 

that your goal must be quantifiable or measurable. For example, you want to lose weight. How will you know when you have already reached your goal of losing 

weight? After you've lost 5 or 10 pounds? It would be difficult to track your 

progress if you are aiming for unspecific goals.
 
What you should do is include hard numbers to your goals. By doing so, you are 

creating a finish line for yourself which allows you to say when you have finally

succeeded.
 
 4. Not setting realistic goals. So, you now have a set of specific goals. 

Fantastic! The next thing to do is make sure that they are realistic or 

attainable. Nothing can kill your motivation faster than unrealistic goals. If 

you want to lose 5 pounds in a week, that would be a great goal, measurable and 

realistic. But if you say, you want to lose 5 pounds in a day, that's called day dreaming. Unrealistic goals are overwhelming and often results to procrastination.
 
 5. Not having a plan. Achieving your goals doesn't end in just having a goal. 

Of course, you have to make them happen. You have to create a plan on how to be 

where you want to be. You may need to do a bit of research before creating a 

plan. You may search the Internet or ask your friends who have actually been to 

where you want to be for some advice.
 
Create a clear, specific and practical plan to achieve your goals. However, be 

careful of over-planning. Otherwise, you might not get started at all. You also 

have to remember that when it comes to planning, you have to be very flexible. 

Make room for the things that might happen unexpectedly.
 
When things don't go as planned, you need to be able to adjust your actions 

based on what is actually happening around you. Analyze the situation and create another plan of action.
 

Expand Your Vision

"God is not found in places. God is found in consciousness."

-Joel Goldsmith

You've heard of thinking outside the box, right? When you think outside the box you open yourself to innovative ways of approaching problems or situations and you can look at things from a new perspective. But when you are stuck in a rut feeling like there's no way out of your situation whether it's mental, financial, emotional or physical it's hard to think outside the box because you're stuck inside of it!

I often hear people say things like: I'll never meet anyone again, I'll never get out of debt, who would want to hire me, I guess I'll be alone forever, who would want to marry me, why doesn't anything ever good happen to me? And on and on.

So, what is it that you think is missing for these people? What is the one thing that they can't see because they are lost in the darkness inside their own mind and their old ways of thinking? What if this darkness that occupies Mind Street was replaced with hope, belief and trust? Then would they have a different view of things?

When you open your vision beyond your own little inside world filled with fears, doom and gloom, woe-is-me, limited thinking you will begin to see what's beyond the inside of the box. And, when you allow yourself to open up to a new way of thinking or a new consciousness; what is outside of the box is a world filled with infinite possibilities.

Instead of being locked down by your thoughts, your thoughts will be the very thing that can set you free. It begins with trusting that life is working out the way it's supposed to on your unique journey.

Let's just pretend you have a barometer that can read your "trust level." It goes from 1 to 100. Now throughout the day you're going to check and see what your meter reads. If you trust in God/Your Higher Self/Allah/ or whatever and you truly believe that you are being guided; your trust level is high. But if you don't believe things will work out for you and you have no faith, where do you think your trust level will be? The best part is you can adjust your trust level by what you choose to believe in.

When you can learn to expand your vision to connect with a higher consciousness, this connection is the essence of who you are and who you are connected to. And it is through this connection that you raise your mind to a new level that is out of the box and you will be well on your way to experiencing life the way you were meant to.

Many people seek out this connection through meditation, and prayer which helps you become aware of who you really are. Too often what happens is we identify who we are with our human experience, our mind or ego, i.e. who we are, what we drive, where we live, what our story is, what is happening to us and all of the superficial stuff.

But when you become more "consciously aware" of who you really are which is your soul and you connect with your soul, i.e. a higher consciousness, you will look at things with new eyes, a new awareness. Begin to look at life through your spiritual eyes; it will stretch your faith and your vision so you can get rid of the old negative mind-sets that hold you back.

And when you understand this, you will have expanded your vision and how you look at life. It's worth the view!
 

Love Yourself And Build Your Self Esteem

It might seem that life is just a matter of dealing with what is thrown at you.  However, if you want to take control and create the life you want, the best place to start is to love yourself.  Psychologists have said for years that people who value themselves and have high levels of self-esteem are happier in general and have better coping skills than people with negative feelings toward themselves.

Affirmations Work Wonders

Affirmations are sayings you often tell yourself.  For many people stuck in negative thought patterns, affirmations seem trite and false, since they are more comfortable with the negative messages they tell themselves.  However, turning negative thought patterns into positive ones can make a huge difference in how you see yourself.

Affirmations are messages that are heard and understood by the subconscious.  The subconscious functions without a filter.  It does not differentiate between what is accurate and what is false.  Instead, it simply listens to what it is fed and integrates it into your thought process.

There are many ways to use affirmations to build your self-esteem.  You can start by writing up a list of affirmations for yourself that confirm the message you want your subconscious to absorb.  Here is a list of examples:

- I am a valuable person.

- I am a loving person.

- I love myself.

- I am generous.

The primary goal in writing affirmations is to help you identify the qualities in yourself that you value and ways you can build your self esteem.  If you have problems coming up with a few of these qualities, think of characteristics that you value in others.  One of the wonderful things about affirmations and the subconscious is that by telling yourself you have these qualities, you begin to exhibit them in your behaviors.  Remember, the subconscious does not have a filter and absorbs what it is repeatedly told regardless of the accuracy of the statement.

Using Affirmations

When you have your list of affirmations that you want to integrate into your subconscious, you can begin to use them.  Often, you will need to use affirmations for several weeks before you begin to feel a shift in your thoughts.  However, once you begin to see positive changes within yourself, you may decide that affirmations can help you in other areas of your life.

Affirmation Method #1 - Make an audio file of your affirmations and listen to it several times a   day.  The best audio files are ones you do yourself.  Hearing your own voice is more effective than listening to someone else's voice because your subconscious immediately recognizes your personal authority.  One of the best times to listen to your audio file is right before you go to sleep, when you are relaxed and you mind is receptive.

Affirmation Method #2 - Write your affirmations and place them where you can see them regularly.  You can write your affirmations on sticky-notes and place them around your bathroom mirror and repeat them to yourself as you go through your morning and nighttime routines.

Affirmations are a great way to increase your self-esteem.  The more often you repeat positive messages to yourself, the better you will feel about yourself.  You will find that you love yourself more and you will begin to behave and act in positive ways that reflect the loving messages that you are sending to yourself.  By using affirmations, you can take control of what you think and feel about yourself instead of being at the mercy of what others tell you

Change Is Inevetible - Learn To Adjust

Life is filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, good and not so good times; that's what makes it interesting and often forces us out of our comfort zones.

Frank Herbert said, "Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."

At one time or another, these expected or unexpected, planned or unpredictable circumstances can occur in every aspect of our lives.

We experience them at home, in our jobs, in our relationships, physically and/or emotionally, financially, through loss of someone or something, globally, etc.

Whether we are encountering them directly or indirectly, it can sometimes be tough dealing with what has come about either by choice or unforeseen, but it offers us a chance to awaken and grow.

With change, things are different than they used to be, and that can take a little getting use to.

There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way of handling what goes on in life.

Other people might have a different opinion regarding how you "should" be dealing with things and you may or may not agree with them. That's okay because that's what makes us all unique.

However, there is a way that is less stressful and that allows you to move through change a little easier. It is "adjusting".

Adjusting holds the door open for possibilities to enter again.

Rather than "just" getting on with things as if they never happened, or staying stuck in your fears, emotions or the situation, you now are adjusting.

Adjusting to...

Changes. Getting your bearings again. Differences, variances, perspectives. Not having all the answers. New ways. Looking at, and being with things, differently now. Getting use to a new routine or way of doing things. The way you feel physically and/or emotionally. Loss on various levels. Not being able to do things the way you use to. The unknown. Change offers you opportunities to grow in ways you may not have ever thought possible. It does awaken the sleeper in you.

Adjusting allows you the time to move through the changes internally and externally while you are emerging and merging into the new circumstance and ways of being.

People, places, and things change. You change, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That's life.

What's important for you is adjusting the best you can and having the patience and understanding through what is occurring for you and/or another person.

Change isn't always easy. In fact, it can seem down right unbearable sometimes, but you can make it much easier on yourself or others as you, or they, move through things being different than they once were.

Some circumstances aren't as difficult as others and therefore don't require a lot of modifying on your part, but either way there are still adjustments on some level.

The events that seem to stir the pot of emotions to boiling or overflowing in you are often the very ones that necessitate the greatest patience and modifications, as well as opportunities to awaken and grow.

For some, time does not heal the inevitable changes in life, but adjusting to them offers healing through them.

Use these techniques with insight to assist you in seeing how you can adjust to the changes that occur in your life.
 

3 Ways To Change Your Thinking

Most people know that the best way to get better results in life is by changing the way you view things. When you think positively, the outcome of your actions more often than not turn out favourable as well. This is so because our actions are affected by our mood, and when we are positive, most often, our mood is happy, pleasant and objective.

When a person has a negative attitude, on the other hand, he becomes fatalistic, and sarcastic, doubtful and suspicious. A negative attitude eats away at one's entire being. It dims all possibility of a positive outcome, thus making his already-defeatist attitude bear fruit to more negative output. But even a negative person is not doomed, because there are ways to change the way you think for the better. Here are a few ways:

Do different things, do things differently. There is a circle we all are accustomed to moving around in, and it is called our "comfort zone. The best way to change your manner of thinking is to do things you don't normally do. Sticking to a day-in-day-out routine makes any form of change uncomfortable and extremely threatening. But you will never be able to change the way you think if you don't step out of your normal daily procedure. Dare to go against the ordinary by pushing yourself to acceptable but still tolerable limits. Normally, one who does so will get so fascinated by all the new experiences that he will no longer want to go back to his tired and dreary life.

New experiences help you grow as a person, thus encouraging you to alter you negative views about life.

Meet new people. New acquaintances open you mind to new experiences. The people we meet normally bring new ideas and a new perspective on life. Remember that man was generally alone, until he thought of welcoming and inviting people to share his life. No amount of school education can ever equal the knowledge and awareness one gets by meeting new people with totally different experiences. Alter the way you think by thinking that each day provides new opportunities to meet more interesting people. The entire life-changing process even becomes more positive when you meet people who always have such an optimism and zest for life.

Recognize the lack of happiness in your life. Learn to be more aware. Don't you feel worse that everyone is so happy, while you're sulking in a corner? If you are lonely but refuse to acknowledge that you are, then you may need to seek the help of a professional. It is never normal to be unhappy and sad- it may be due to some type of hormonal imbalance. There is so much more beauty in life that you can experience, if only you work towards altering the way you think and react to things. So why waste it? The first step is to recognize your negativity and unhappiness, then work towards slowly altering them. It takes some patience and hard work, but all your efforts will be worth it.
 

Don't Waste Your Time If You Want To Be Abundant

How you value your time has a direct effect on your ability to be abundant.

You can almost tell if a person is abundant or not by looking at the types of activities a person does. If a person spends a lot of their time involved in activities that serves no real purpose eg. hours of TV, hours of computer games, hours of hanging out with friends in coffee shops etc, I think you know what I mean, you can tell that this person does not have an abundant mindset, hence is not enjoying abundance.

I am not saying that we should not be engaged in this sort of activities, but if it is done hours on end, certainly one cannot say that it has been time well spent even if one was enjoying it? We have to be honest with ourselves here.

Time as you know is not abundantly available to us. Once it is gone can never be replaced.Some people may say: well, I do not believe in time as it is man made. The reality is we do live our lives in a chronological order and that our physical body do age according to linear time. No matter how much you deny the importance of time, your body clock is still ticking away.

Valuing your time means seeing the importance of how you spend your time. This means cutting down on activities that serves no real purpose for you.

Here are some key points to implement to move towards valuing your time more and in the process become more abundant.

Plan a monthly, weekly, and daily time table. It is important to have an overview of what you are going to accomplish in a month and then break the tasks up into your weekly schedule and then daily.

If you spend a lot of your time on activities that serves no purpose, then eliminating them completely from your life or cutting down on time spent doing these can help you to feel more productive. You know what the time wasters are so we are not going to go into detail here.

Stay away from time suckers. There are some people you know, who perhaps have not found real purpose in life, try to suck your time by having too long phone conversations, or meet with you over coffee and go on and on over unimportant topics or worse still engage in gossiping about other people. You have to stay away from people like these because they will drag you into their lack mindset. A part of you wants to be like them, because a part of you wants to procrastinate and do not want to do what you are supposed to be doing and time suckers present a good opportunity for you to delay. If you do what is right for you, this could mean leaving some social groups. Honestly, you will be much better off with people who share the mindset as you who value and respect your time as much as you do.

Plan your schedule with productive patterns in mind. Clustering similar activities on the same day will save you the time of starting and re-starting your engine. For eg. if you have several meetings coming up for the week, try to schedule them all on the same day and at the same venue or at least around the same vicinity so that you save on traveling time as well.

Create time slots on your calendar for specific things even if it has not happened yet. For eg. if you do not have many clients for the week, create the time slots anyway and fill in the blanks with "client #1" "client#2". By doing so you are being prepped to receive clients.

As a small business owner when you value your time you will see that you will have more more time for more clients and interestingly you will also have more time with your family, with friends you value and you will have more time for real quality relaxation and recreation.

Respect your time and others will too and this is one of the most important keys towards abundance!