Habits, habits, habits

Okay, I'm sure you're thinking, "Really? A post on habits? Aren't there enough of these on the internet already?" Touche, health enthusiast, touche.  But not to worry, I'll keep it short and sweet.

Habit: "An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary" (dictionary.com).  Sound about right? It should.  We all have habits, both good and bad.  Things we do without even thinking about it.  Thoughts we allow to enter our minds without challenge, without question of their origin and validity.  In a way, our habits are the auto-pilot actions and thoughts running in our subconscious background.  And in a way, literally speaking, they direct our way in life.

So, it would seem the better our foundation of habits, the better we will feel about ourselves, interact with others, and steer the boat along a more positive path.  Think about it: All things start with a thought, which affects our mindset and mood, which affects our intentions and actions, which affect the course of our lives.  Good habits lead to a better life. 

You couldn't tell from looking at me (I'm not nor have ever been obese or even close to it), but food addiction has played a catalyzing role in my own life.  Food was my solution to issues I did not know how to wrestle with, starting at an early age.  And, rather than deal with the issues, I let binge-eating deal with them instead.  When I finally took a step back, evaluated things, and took corrective action, I created new habits, and changed for the better.  

At present, with stress a bit higher than usual due to certain circumstances, irresponsible eating has attempted to rear it's ugly head back into my life.  In effort to fortify my position, I decided to play around with HabitForge.com.  And, after one week of use, I can definitely say it's working.  I simply input a habit I want to create/improve/change, then follow up with a couple daily emails that ask me how I did, and remind me why I'm doing this.  So far so good! I encourage you to check it out if you are interested in creating new habits for yourself.

Okay, not so short and sweet as I would have liked it to have been.  But habits play a massive role in our lives, and should not be left to run free without our attention and guidance.  

Cheers and good luck!

Currently listening to: Les Baxter - Space Escapade
Currently reading: The Twelfth Planet, Seat of the Soul, Four Hour Work Week