Changing habits

(Submitted by The Art of Living Team)

Changing habits is hard. And yet it is simple too. Whatever we do begins with a thought. Whatever we give our attention to materializes. That is the problem and the solution at the same time. Based on our experiences, we are so used to seeing a certain reality that it becomes difficult to look at the same thing and see something different, something new - a new possibility.

But we can begin with a new thought about our reality. We can focus our thinking and visualize a new outcome. Don’t look at what you don’t want anymore, just visualize something different. Focused attention several times a day for short instances can and will change lives. Think about your wildest dreams under the shower, in the bathroom, when you wake up and when you go to bed. Change doesn’t require time, it does require attention.

And maybe that’s where we go wrong so often. We use our will to change our patterns. So we now go to the gym every other day instead of once a week. Change becomes an agenda item. But our will cannot succeed if we don’t redirect our mind as well. So these quiet “under the shower” moments of visualization are crucial to create lasting change.

Image credit: 'Daydream', by Paul César Helleu, 1901