"Absolutely amazing, priceless! I would absolutely recommend this to others!!! Helene is not only accurate, but her compassion, sympathy and wisdom make it a truly amazing experience."
No wonder it’s hard to change
As a living being, we have amazingly powerful survival instincts, and they don’t like change because it represents the unknown.
Unknown means unproven which may mean danger, who knows? So our instinct thinks we’re better off to stay the way we are.
But eating a healthier diet (for example) is good for me, not a threat!
Never mind that it may totally illogical that the particular change we are considering be a threat to our survival. Our primal brain is not logical.
It knows that you have survived until now doing it “the old way”, and it hasn’t yet seen you live through the new way.
So how do I convince my instincts to stop sabotaging my efforts to create a new habit?
Start by being very clear about the benefits of changing, and the dangers of not doing so. Thinking vague and brief thoughts is not enough; you’re needing to convince a powerful primal force here!
Spend some time clearly writing, talking, visualizing, feeling what might happen if you don’t reform your ways. Make a clear connection with the consequences of continuing your old habits.
Then do the same for the benefits of the change you want to make. The key is a clear and strong portrayal of why you need to change and how it will favor your survival.
Vigilance is unfortunately essential; wish it was easier
Have you ever successfully made a new start and then before you knew it were back to where you started? Of course; we all have.
Habits are a powerful part of your survival mechanism, so even if you were able to initially entice your primal brain to support you in your personal improvement plan, you still weren’t out of the woods.
Establishing new habits requires a constant rekindling of the “why” you need to change, as well as a “structural renovation” of your habits to allow them to support your new way of being.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Helene,
Thank you sharing your knowledge in a way that is insightful and meaningful. You have a way of explaining things that is truly helpful, especially in overcoming fear and finally taking action. Your 7-day mini-course is truly a gift that I hope everyone has a chance to experience.
Dolores