Making and breaking habits

"Why is it that good habits are so hard to create yet to slip into bad habits is?so easy?"

A great question that I got asked this week, and it raised a few points that I think are worth mentioning:

• 'Bad habits' are the things we do repeatedly that we'd rather not do because they lead to an outcome that we don't like. However, they?usually come with some kind of immediate or short term reward.?

One example of this is the release of dopamine when we eat some sugar.

We have a plethora of different bacteria in our gut, that are vital to the normal functioning of our brain and body because of the chemicals they produce and the jobs they do.

However, they like to feed off different things and some of them aren't so helpful to us in this way. There are some of the bacteria that like to feed off sugar and so when we eat some sugar, they create dopamine, a feel-good hormone, that travels in our bloodstream and when it reaches our brain, it activates the reward centres, giving us a little boost and causing our brain to say "yes, please, I'd like some more of that" and so we reach for the second chocolate, and the third... and so on.?

When this happens it starts to establish addictive cycles that leave us wanting more and more sugar to get that dopamine hit and pleasurable feeling. Unfortunately though, the sugary treat?gives us no nutritional benefit?and comes with?a large whack?of calories attached, as well as a host of other problems.?

It has been found that eating sugar and ultra-processed foods can lead to the same areas and pathways of the brain being 'lit up' on scans as in the brains of people with drug addictions - the cycles we set up in our brain and body are that powerful!?

Gut Reaction

The links between our gut, brain and the rest of our body are huge, and often underestimated by so many of us.

I created my workshop 'Gut Reaction' to provide some of this information in an easy-to-understand way and to help you to work out how you can start applying it to your life without needing a full overhaul.?

Follow the link below to find out upcoming dates for Gut Reaction and to book your spot or drop me a message for more info.

Book onto Gut Reaction Workshop

• However, that's not the only way our habits might make us 'feel better'.?

Often we can slip into doing something that becomes excessive and unhelpful to us because we are numbing out feelings of discomfort.?

When we are frustrated, overwhelmed, scared, angry, sad, hurt, guilty, pissed off, disappointed (the list could go on!), it can feel uncomfortable.?

However, rather than acknowledge and deal with what we are feeling, so many of us bury it, pretending we are 'fine', not wanting to cause a fuss, or be seen as 'emotional', or 'unstable', wanting to avoid confrontation or not wanting to upset anyone. Or sometimes we're just so busy getting on with life, we don't even allow ourselves the time to recognise that something isn't quite right, or investigate what's underneath it.

By not dealing with what we are feeling, it can build up, even if we don't really know what it is we are feeling. That can make us feel uncomfortable or uneasy and we don't like that!

So instead, we turn to something that feels more pleasurable, or something that distracts us from feeling what we are feeling e.g.

• Eating
• Mindless scrolling social media
• Binge watching Netflix
• Excessive 'retail therapy' or overspending
• Partying
• Seeking external validation from other people
• Overfilling your schedule to keep busy
• Alcohol, smoking...

...again the list could go on.?

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Do you recognise any of these behaviours in yourself?

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Next time you're doing them, ask yourself how you are feeling? Is there something niggling?

Even if you're not sure what that is, just acknowledging there is something there can help.?

Want some tips on how you can work out what is going on for you in moments like these? That is exactly what I help people to do, so just drop me a message or click below to book a 30 minute complimentary chat and discover how the techniques I use can help you overcome these numbing behaviours that are stopping you from getting the results you want.

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So we've covered why bad habits can be so easy to slip into but...

• Why are bad habits so hard to break?
• And why are good habits so difficult to form?

Habits are things that we do repeatedly, and regularly.?In doing so, we use the same nerve pathways to do it.

Think back to when you learnt a new skill...

At first, you were probably?a bit clunky at it, but the more you practiced, the better you got.

That is neuroplasticity in action.

You woke up some dormant pathways and to start off with it was hard work, but it got easier the more you used them.?

When I was working as a physio with people recovering from a stroke, I would often use the analogy of a field of hay to explain neuroplasticity.?

Imagine a hayfield that has grown high. There are lots of ways that you could get from one side of the field to the other, but there is one path that has been walked over many times and the hay is well trodden down. This is the easy path to take. This is like the nerve pathway that has been being?used for the habit you are already in.?

But you now want to form a new pathway for a new habit. So you have to trample down the hay to create the new path. At first its hard work, but the more you do it, the easier it gets, and a new habit, or pathway, is formed.?

For my stroke patients, they have no choice - their original pathway no longer exists, they have to trample down a new path, and it is tough going.?

However, in breaking old habits and forming new ones, you have to choose to do something?different. And all the while you are trying to trample down your new path, the old one sits there, tempting you. Not only is it easier, but you also get that quick-fix reward at the end.?

The problem is it also leads you to the wrong part of the field.

The outcome you don't want. The weight gain, the self doubt, the procrastination and wasting time, the feeling like you aren't good enough...

You have to choose to do something differently and keep on choosing it.?

Rationally, we know our good habits are more likely to lead to the outcome we want in the long term, but they can feel like much harder work, particularly when it comes to avoiding the temptation of those quick-fix reward hits that come with our bad habits.

Knowing WHY you want to do something different and establishing the drivers behind it is essential in having any hope at creating a change in your habits.?

But knowing your drivers for why you choose to do the opposite is even more important.?

Changing your behaviour is only the superficial level and so if you try to change your habits by just telling yourself you need to be different, it is going to be hard work, and take a long time, and you may find it difficult to sustain in the long run.?

That's where the tools and techniques I use with my clients help.

NLP, hypnosis and Timeline Therapy all help to change the programming, identity and beliefs that drive the behaviour so you get to be different without having to try so hard.?

Want to try it out for yourself? Get in touch today and you can experience the huge benefits of coaching for as little as ￡20 in a Performance Analysis & Review.

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