Habits – Hurtful or Helpful?

WHC Blog Post

Dr. Melissa R. Rich

I’ve often said that I love a good habit. In my opinion they can make life a good deal easier (another thing I’m known for saying is, “Easy is good”).

I’ll give some examples. I run 4 mornings a week through my neighborhood and I pretty much just put things on automatic pilot because I run the same route every time. Not too exciting but it leaves my mind free to wander and do some creative problem solving.

You may have habits regarding:

Fun and leisure time
Eating out
Housework
Getting ready for work in the morning

Some habits save time, require less thought, and generally free you up. Those are good ones to have.

However, it’s also easy to fall into bad habits that can be expensive, time consuming and unhealthy. I’ll give some examples:

Eating lots of junk food (not good for your wallet or your body)
Getting home from work and turning into a couch potato (ditto your body above)
Smoking or chewing tobacco (most of us know the pitfalls here)

The good news is that we don’t have to be a slave to our bad habits – we all change things up all the time. Habits can be tricky to break though, because we’re often not even aware of what we’re doing – whatever the behavior is just happens automatically.

Periodically it’s a good idea to take stock and see where you are in your life. Are you achieving your goals professionally? Is your personal life satisfactory? Are you as healthy as you should (or could) be?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help in recognizing and changing habits. Check with a friend or family member who has good judgment and will give you an honest opinion. Or consult a professional. As a hypnotherapist, I help people uncover unhealthy patterns and change them – and become happier with their lives.

Remember, habits can be changed. Just because you’ve had a bad habit for the past 10 years, you don’t have to have for the next 10!