[Pharmaciest]

does anyone have any tips on learning to break from bad habits and behavioral patterns that are deeply set in you and ingrained into your personality?

i think one of the more important and often overlooked things, imho is to get your subconscious and your unconscious mind on the same page, so that your actions can be congruent. unfortunately this is easier said than done, but maybe i can give you some tips. one of the ways to reach the deeper levels is hypnosis. it can work wonders for some people.

serious open and honest self-reflection can also help a lot. when you have some time to devote to this, ask yourself the following four questions.

* in what way is this behavior a benefit to me?
* in what way is this behavior detrimental to me (or, bad for me)?
* if i didn't have this behavior, how would that benefit me?
* if i didn't have this behavior, in what way could this be detrimental to me?

when you do this, all the obvious answers will probably pop up, and then you will kind of blank out, but if you keep going here you might uncover some real gems.

another thing that helps me is to just keep telling myself, 'if i can only do this for three weeks....' this is much easier for the unconscious or inner child part of you to accept, especially if you feel like you're being deprived, like not smoking, or not eating as much. because your inner child will probably see that as a lifetime of deprivation.

some new behaviors are better learned on the bodily level. in this case, use stimulation, like wearing a loose-fitting rubber band on your wrist. when you catch yourself thinking about 'that thing' immediately snap the rubber band against the inside of your wrist. this sting will teach the body to associate pain with the old pattern. then you can also kiss or stroke your wrist whenever the new behavior pattern pops in your mind. i know this sounds silly but it can be very effective.

ok, i got a few more, but i'm late for work. more later
love and (wrist) kisses
manny