Many of us are locked into habitual behaviours or destructive patterns. We are presented with lessons that are begging to be learnt and then repeated day, after day, after day… The first step to change is awareness; without understanding the existence of our destructive behaviours there would never be any motivation to do anything different! Then, we need to want to change. For some this can take time, as we often find comfort in our habitual behaviours. The comfort of the familiar and the fear of the unknown keep them in our lives. So let’s say we have both awareness and desire to change, what then? In theory, it sounds like this is all we need, we recognise the problem, we have the desire to solve the problem, so we then we act to fix it! This third step often provides the most resistance and also the most frustration. Getting stuck here has the potential to cause a negative spiral, feeling defeated in the face of the constant repeating of a behaviour we desperately want to change. We know we should be able to change, but our failure to do so can precipitate feelings of worthlessness, making our desired change even more elusive…
Technically we can change any behaviour in a moment. We simply behave in a different way from this moment on. But the familiar behavioural groves we have carved throughout our past are just so easy to fall back into.
Thankfully, we are given a daily opportunity to truly reinvent ourselves. Daily we are offered the opportunity to do things differently. And the answer lies in our nightly sleep.
Daily we all go through a process of rebirth. We put our conscious life on hold for a few hours as we rest, revitalise and recuperate. When we awaken back into our world we can view this as a daily ‘reboot’ of our physiological systems. Our consciousness stirs, slowly integrating us back into our physical world. We yawn and stretch, shaking off the final remnants of our slumber and then begin our new day.
This moment is the most valuable of your life for real, lasting change. How you choose to spend these moments can make the difference between a day well spent, or a day spent confined to the same habits from which you desire freedom.
How do you choose to be woken? With a violent, mechanical alarm? Or with soft, soothing music? With your loving partners gentle embrace? Or an abrasive yell that you are running late again? After you awake do you take some time to reflect quietly on what is most important to you, and how this should influence your choices for the day ahead? Or do you spend these moments in a rush of frantic activity?
Reflecting in these first moments of the day on the habits you want to break and behaviours you want to create is your best opportunity to become the creator of your life. You only need 5 minutes of quiet, calm reflection to begin each day to see your life transform…
This post first appeared at simonboylan.com
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