Breaking the Habit - Why do we find it so Hard to Quit Smoking?
The other day, a client told me she was afraid that her memory was failing her. 'I obviously got here somehow', she said, 'but I really can't remember a thing about the journey.'
Have you ever done something familiar, like going home, and then realised that you can't remember it? Much of the time we put our repetitive, everyday tasks on 'automatic', so that we can focus on whatever we're consciously thinking about at the time.
Think about the last time you moved house: at first it takes much longer to do things because you don't know where everything is, so you have to think consciously about all the little activities that go to make up your day. Instead of automatically going to the right cupboard you have to re-learn your habits.
our habits run our lives
To sum it up, we depend on our habits - the things we have learned so well that we do them unconsciously. You could say that our habits run our lives most of the time. It's not a problem unless we have habits that work against us. They can seem very hard to change.
Typically, people try to deal with bad habits by telling themselves off:
'Now there I go again! Why do I keep doing the same silly things? I must be stupid …' and it doesn't work.
so how can we change bad habits?
What can we do to stop smoking, feel more confident, stop anxious thoughts, stop undermining ourselves and start to feel more in charge of our lives?
In my experience it's a case of getting on the right wavelength to address the problem and, since our habits are unconscious, using an unconscious approach to change them.
When you use the right approach it's amazing how much quicker and easier it is to succeed. Can you imagine how much better you'll feel when you've taken charge of your habits and you're living the life you want to live?
go on, dare to dream!
Graham Smith is a Hypnotherapist and Master Practitioner of NLP. He is in his fourteenth year of helping his clients to deal with problems such as smoking, so that they can enjoy a better and healthier life. He and his partner Daphne Nancholas live in Cornwall and have produced a relaxation CD to help relieve stress - www.calmtime.co.uk. You can find articles on relaxation and sound samples. Graham's site is: www.smithandfriends.co.uk
