DO YOU HAVE SOME USELESS HABITS YOU DESPERATELY WANT TO CHANGE?

You may not be responsible for the habits that you already have, but it is your responsibility to change the habits that hurting you, and to form new habits which help you. Habits form unconsciously. When you were growing up, your brain was learning by watching people around you especially your parents. Your brain also has been leaning from friends, TV and internet. During childhood your brain is curious and wants to learn.  During childhood, your brain also does not filter the information that receive. You then grow up and behave in the way your brain has learned to behave. You are doing the things you do not want to do, but you still end up doing them. You may blame yourself, others or the stars. You may be confused. You may think that you are not smart, capable or do not have a strong will. You may think you are the only person with these problems.

Do you want to know who does those behaviors that you do not want?

The subconscious part of your brain is doing them.

Behaviors that your brain has learned, are wired in your brain. They become a part of your subconscious brain. Your brain repeats the same behaviors as before, as soon as it receives the same stimuli. In regard to habits, you behave just like your dog. But your cerebral cortex is much bigger and much more complex than your dog. As a human being, you can think and have free will.  In the past your brain learned that when you feel hungry, this means you should eat. So as soon as you see ice cream, your subconscious brain wants to eat the ice cream. Here comes your conscious brain that may not want to eat it. The result depends on who wins. Whoever wins over and over, becomes stronger. Because of this, if you want to change a bad habit your conscious brain must fight your subconscious brain and replace the bad habit with a good one. Until the new behavior becomes your habit and a part of your subconscious brain, your conscious brain must use effort to do the new behavior every time.

 You are a smart and capable person.  Instead of wasting your time and using energy to feel sorry for yourself, go start working on your new behavior. You can’t get something for nothing.  

  • What about you, do you have some habits that are no worthy of you. Do you want to change them?
  • What new behaviors do want to have?

Write them down and next week, I will teach you the technique to change them and be free of them once and forever.

Dr. Mahmoud Rashidi, MD, FACS, FRCSC