One trick is to pull a little bait and switch on your own brain. It goes like this: When the urge comes to do the counterproductive thing, don’t resist. Instead, replace.
Let me explain with an example. I had a friend that had an urge-based habit he wanted to break. He fought with it for years using the resist, resist, resist method with predictable results. Finally, he decided to try something different. Every time he felt that urge, instead of trying to fight it he replaced the resistance with, drumroll, please …A drink of water. That’s right: A drink of water.
I'm going to be a guinea pig here and to cut down on those late night raids on the snack pantry or that 9pm bowl of cereal, I'm going to try the same...a glass of water. Drop me a line (tim@ngpf.org) and let me know about your replacement strategies.
