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Why do we do things that we know are bad for us?
Like overeating, or smoking, or too much TV, overspending, etc. etc. 
Now some of those are real addictions and my intention in this post is not to talk about the causes and remedies for addictions. For one thing, I couldn’t even graze the surface of the subject.
Let’s talk about things we do that we could resist if we tried, or at worst might be mild addictions. Some of the behaviors mentioned above might fit, but also others like:
- Spending too much time on administrative tasks when we know out time would be better spent on product development or marketing
- Accumulating a mess of papers on our desks when we know clutter is a drain on our energy
- Spreading negative news or gossip
- Cutting it too close by leaving at the last minute for appointments
And the list goes on and on.
Most of us have heard that fear and the instinct for survival is at the root of most of our automatic behaviors. We could spend countless hours exploring what we are afraid of, and why we do what we do.
But even though that’s the title of my post, I don’t intend to go down that road.
Why? Because I’m more interested in how we can change.
Yes, sometimes, finding the root cause helps us choose otherwise, but often, we don’t need to go there. Not only that, we can get stuck in our story since drama is so interesting, especially when we’re starring in it.
So back to the list: we do these things because they make us feel better in the short term even if they backfire in the long term.
Short term satisfaction or relief of tension even to the detriment of long term well-being. That kind of summarizes what created our environmental and monetary crises, doesn’t it?
How can we stop doing things that we know are bad for us?
Four keys:
- Awareness of what we’re doing (realizing what we are doing)
- Deciding what would be better (knowing what else we should be doing)
- Having another way of releasing the tension otherwise our primal instincts will overrule our decisions
- Having a system to keep us on track to prevent us going back to old habits
Amazing how once again, the answer lies in us harnessing the power of our attention and learning to be present and aware!
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love it!
im going to use this advice to stop my procrastinating ways.