Discover Your Habit Contract
Habits Are Contracts.
Habits are contracts with our subconscious selves. We have "signed" these contracts for some reason that is logical, though we may not remember what that reason is. Some reasons seem insignificant, while others may be essential to our survival at a certain place or time. Habits are adopted when we make a choice to accept them. This can happen when we are children and we adopt our parents' habits. It can happen at any other time of life when we decide "I don't want this, or "I do want that." Our subconscious then gives us an urge to behave in a certain way. For instance, if you decide you want to have a nice smile, then you will probably develop a habit of regular brushing. The longer you do it and the more important the reason for it, the harder it will be for you to change the habit. Following are ideas to consider in finding your own contract.Review These Typical Reactions to Long-term and Hard-to-break Habits.
1. The habit is bad, and I am bad for having it.
2. My habit and I are so disgusting that we must change immediately, forcibly and at all costs. This is likely to be painful, humiliating or at the very least, highly uncomfortable. But we deserve this due to #1.
3. The way to quit this awful habit is "out there" somewhere. I just haven't found the right program, pill, or book yet.
Consider More Creative Approaches.
1. My habit has served me in some way that needs to be acknowledged...and perhaps even honored! Although I may have forgotten why I chose this habit, I trust that it was a logical reason. I was a good person then, and I still am.
2. Changing my habit can be a gentle process that leaves me with good memories.
3. I know the most loving and successful way for me to change my habit. All I have to do is pay attention to my own thoughts and feelings, and it will reveal itself to me.
PAPER AND PENCIL TEST AND WORKSHEET
(The easiest way to take this test is to print it out first)
Answer these questions, but do not think long. It is important to answer with the first thing that "pops" into your head.
(Number your paper 1-9, and write down your answers. Leave at least another half a page of space for later questions)
Part One
1. The behavior or habit that I wish to quit is____________________________.
2. The way (when and how) I do this habit is__________________________________.
3. This habit prevents me from ________________________________________.
4. The perfect animal to represent me while I still have this habit is ______________________________.
5. The thing about this animal (#4) that seems like me is ______________.
6. The perfect animal to represent how I will be after breaking my habit is ____________________________.
7. The reason this animal (#6) appeals to me is _______________________.
8. I have already quit at least one habit (and maybe more). List them here.
9. List the methods that you used to quit these habits.
Part Two: Finding Solutions
Where indicated, replace the blanks with your own answers.
1. My contract with (Your answer to #1, Part One) is to help me avoid (Your answer to #3, Part One) by getting me to (Your answer to number 2, Part One).
2. There is some rational reason for this contract. Here are some possible ideas:
3. I choose to honor my habit by acknowledging it has done a good job at maintaining our contract. There are, afterall, good things about (Your answer to # 4, Part One). These good things are ______________________. These are all things which my habit has provided me.
4. I choose to change my contract now. My new contract with my subconscious is to __________________ in a way that is ______________________.
5. I will give myself all the time I need to easily let go of my old habit and find my new one. The following things are clues that will help me find my new, healthier habit.
A. I know that I am looking for a new habit with traits like (Your answer to #6, Part One). These traits are (Your answer to #7, Part One).
B. I am very likely to succeed here as I have succeeded in the past. Following are my most successful, habit-breaking tools (Your answer to #9, Part One).
C. Here are some other tips I will consider on my journey towards a new, more effective me.
* Make a time and space to practice my ideal (free of habit) self every day. Combine this activity with affirmations. This is a very effective way to tell my subconscious what I want.* Ask my subconscious "How can this be easier?" Then I will listen to those little hunches that pop into my mind, and follow up on them!
* Keep a running "score" in a journal of every time that I desire my old habit. Write down my ideas and feelings. Write letters to my habit and/or my body, and then write down the answers I imagine they would give me. Use these intuitive answers for ideas in how to change.* Just say no to bad feelings and let them pass. Engage in a fun hobby or leisure activity, or go back to work. Seek the company of people who do not share my old habit, or who are also in the process of ceasing it. © Katherine Rone, 2000
