As someone who has studied habits for decades (it’s my habit to study habits, ha!) There are many books and blogs and shows specifically on how to form good habits and there are at least as many discussing how to rid yourself of bad habits.

What’s the deal?

Here’s the definition of habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

Here’s the question for you today, if a habit is hard to give up, why then, do my good habits go away rapidly and my bad habits stay so stubbornly?

Might it be the way I’m thinking about it? Might that be true for you too?

The habits that help me most:

Flossing, stretching, journaling, meditating, asking questions, playing, cleaning up

The habits that don’t support what I want:

Sleeping in, drinking, eating sugar, sitting at my computer too long, putting things off

I think about what I want and get up early for the accountability call and I’m on point. It's easy to move from one thing to another when I stay to my wake up routine.

Then I go out with friends and have some wine, stay up late and the next day the bad habits stack up like dishes in the sink, which I don’t like. At the end of those days, I rarely count my blessings however I usually berate myself and promise to get back on track tomorrow.

Hey, good habits, where did you go? What happened to making yourself hard to give up? How come it was so easy to get off course? 

Since rarely do we get answers from inanimate things I’ve decided to pay the most attention to a habit that really supports me regardless of circumstances - That habit? Forgiveness.

When I forgive myself, I do get back on track and faster.

When I forgive myself, I let go of stinking thinking (as Zig Ziglar used to say)

When I forgive myself, I’m more apt to forgive others

When I forgive myself, I’m happier, healthier, and easier to get along with

Since I’m human, just like you, I realize that I”m a mixed bag of multiple emotions firing off at the speed of light. Sometimes it’s so good I’m near tears for the life I’ve created. Sometimes, I disgust myself dwelling on unfinished tasks or less than stellar moments I also created.

So, I forgive myself. I ask forgiveness from others and I move forward. Does this sound like something you can do too? I know it is. 

Here’s to picking more good things than bad!

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