Developing Positive Habits

In my last blog I wrote about how to use NLP for anxiety and I want to continue that theme today. Developing a resilient mindset and less anxious mindset can be done using NLP techniques. Back in 1870 a young William James realised that he could change his mood by changing his habits. He wrote 'we must make automatic and habitual as many useful actions as we can'. Even then he understood the power of making life changes to cause brain changes, although now we have the neuro science to back it up. Fast-tracking to the 21st century, in 2006 a paper published by Duke University found that more than 40% of our actions each day were not driven by conscious decisions but rather by unconscious habits or behaviours.  A strong argument then to ensure our habits are supporting us rather than causing us anxiety or stress. 

Everyone has coping strategies to deal with everyday life.  They are some of the most ingrained routines that we have. What are yours? One of my most important coping strategies is to exercise every day, either with a shortish run or by taking a yoga class.  These are good coping strategies as they help to pull me out of any impending downward spiral in my mood. However, bad coping strategies such as emotional over-eating or drinking too much alcohol etc might make you feel better in the short-term but they don't stabilise your mood in the long-term. Acting on them can cause more stress later on when you have to deal with the consequences.

Of course its hard to change habits. In fact, our brains are biased towards old habits over new habits because we've always done it that way. And, you may notice yourself reverting to an old habit when you are stressed.  So where to start?

Habits are created by repetition. Some habits take less repetition than others. And, unfortunately, bad habits tend to release more dopamine than good ones!  And, of course when you start to create a new habit it takes effort.  You won't always feel like going to the gym or going out for a quiet walk. That's because the right connections in the brain haven't yet been established and strengthened. The good news is that our brains respond to repetition.  Every single time you do something it becomes further wired.  Power through and you will find that the burden of action shifts from the consciously effortful to the unconscious effortless.  You may find as well that if you change a 'keystone habit' as Charles Duhigg describes in 'The Power of Habit' you are likely to find a knock-on effect with other habits. For example, If you get a goal to run a 10k you might also decide to change your habits around eating, drinking and sleeping amongst other things. 

So what will you change? 

To learn more about NLP sign up to our free online Introduction to NLP here:

 https://www.teamnlp.co.uk/free-nlp-course

Have a great week.

Lindsey and the team at Team NLP