Implementing a desirable habit

Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash

The significance of creating a good routine or habit!

We all know how hard it can be to break an unhealthy habit specially if it brings pleasure and it was well practiced. That is why I would like to invite you to be mindful of good routines that you could establish that support you, balance you and energize you.

A good healthy routine of mine is to go to my hot yoga class every morning after dropping my daughter at school. I do it without thinking and I make time for it automatically unless there is an emergency. I will tell you about my unhealthy habits an other time.. :-)

How to set a healthy routine/ habit:

1. Find a time slot in your daily routine that is suitable and that can be the same for every day.
2. Make it manageable. Not too long, not too far away, not too hard...
3. Some healthy routines have to be done every day some every week some once a month...you decide. Regular repetition is the key.
4. Have a reminder. This could be not only a calendar or iPhone reminder but also a colour, an action, a sound, a smell. ( Hypnotherapy can help by setting an anchor to achieve an action after a certain trigger)
5. Add some fun or a sensible reward if the new desirable habit is a bit hard to start with (that beautiful dress you have been eyeing out for a while or a concert ticket or a nice book).
6. Repetition and intensity/passion/ energy are the stepping stones for your new habit...the more often you repeat it the smoother the new neuro- pathway the more intensity you put behind it the more automatic it will be in the future.
7. Identify obstacles, anything that might interfere with what you want to do.

Here a little self hypnosis story for you to help you with the process: Take the time to read this story and memorize its basic content, then read the instruction to go into a light trance:

You are living in a house and next to your house about 50 meters away is a beautiful little shed. Between the house and the shed is a lot of overgrown weed and grass and even some boulders, stones and obstacles.

You decide to walk today from your house to that shed because there is something beautiful and important for you in that shed, you have decided that from now on you will walk another path... it is taking you a lot of effort, focus and energy to make your way...you can not even see the shed as everything is so overgrown but you know it's there... You have to make space, do something about the weeds and the grass, find a way... what can you do about the obstacles and boulders...

(Take time to do this in your self induced trance, not now! In the trance state your part of the mind that is the more powerful and creative part will be available and will supply you with a way, just relax and observe what is happening in the privacy of your own mind. Do not judge anything or criticize, just follow...trust that it will be exactly right for you and your subconscious mind will understand, already considering and implementing helpful suggestions.)

Now as you have re moved what you had to and found a path to the shed you are very pleased to be here. You are spending some quality time here doing what is good for you, finding what might be a treasure, a message or anything else...anything is possible here. You can take one minute of clock time equivalent to all the time that you need...walking back now you have a look at your new path and reach your house after a while of making your way through the still a bit rough and narrow path.

The next day you are walking from your house to the shed again, and the day after that as well and so on...See yourself changing with every time you are walking the path just imagine yourself walking the new path every day and how this path is changing... getting wider, more comfortable, smoother, no obstacles, no wild weeds or grass growing and obscuring the path...you could even walk the path with your eyes closed as you now know it so well...and every time you reach the shed you enjoy being there more and more and you notice that you are changing...notice how you look, how you feel, notice any sounds that you might hear adding to the positive, empowering and desirable changes...be specific about those changes. Enjoy!

Instructions to go into a light trance:
( take about 10min to be undisturbed and uninterrupted)

Now find a comfortable chair. Rest your hands in your lap, your head supported by the chair, your feet comfortable, feel the chair pushing up against you, your weight supported. Follow your breathing for a while as you are creating a natural and gentle rhythm of breath, flowing easily in and out of your nose...let your eyes close...your eyelids heavy...all those tiny muscles in your eyelids relaxed...in a while you start counting from 1 to 20.

Take your time...with every inhale one number...With every even number you relax deeper into the chair and with every uneven number you feel a pleasant heaviness increasing or a tingling lightness expanding, whichever is right for you. You know that at the count of 20 you are in a self induced light trance, a place where changes can happen...you now go to that house in the story and play the story your own story...you know what to do. When you are ready you can come back to full alertness by counting from 3 to 1 and at the count of 1 you will be fully alert, awake with your eyes open feeling great! Remember the most important thing to make this work is that you relax and don't try, don't force anything just relax and observe... going into a trance is like having goosebumps, you can not force them but you will know when they are there.
Have fun and R E L A X...:-)