The Awesome Power of Habit
There’s a great poem, anonymously written, that goes like this:
WHO AM I?
I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me – and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed – you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great people; and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a human being. You may run me for a profit or turn me for ruin – it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who Am I? I Am Habit.
-Anonymous
Habits are the things we do automatically, without even thinking about them. They are the things we do regularly, often daily. And those sometimes little actions can have a profound impact on our lives. But why are habits so hard to change?
The 21 Day Myth
Some people say that if you do something for 21 days, it automatically becomes a habit. But is that really true? The idea that habits take 21 days to install seems to have originated with something that Maxwell Maltz wrote in his book Psycho-Cybernetics. For the sake of clarity, he said that many commonly observed phenomena “tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.” Maxwell Maltz’s book became so hugely influential for many coaches and teachers, and his idea got shortened to “it takes 21 days to form a habit.” Because it was repeated so many times, by so many people who seemed to know what they were talking about, it became accepted as truth.
In 2009, the European Journal of Social Psychology published a study that showed the actual range for habit development in the study participants varied anywhere from 18 – 254 days. A range that I think we can say effectively disproves the 21-day concept. Wow… up to 254 days? No wonder so many people fail with their New Year’s resolutions!
Focusing on the Wrong Part of the Mind
I think the biggest problem people face with habit development is that they’re using the wrong part of their mind to try to change a habit. Habits originate from the subconscious mind. So, doesn’t it make sense, that to change our habits, we’d deal with the part of the mind responsible for the habit? That’s where hypnosis comes in.
Hypnosis has effectively helped people change a variety of habits, from helping people effectively quit smoking, to helping people change their eating habits, to getting people to stop biting their nails. It works because hypnosis focuses on the subconscious mind. It speaks the language of the subconscious.
Have you ever pulled into the driveway at home, or the parking lot at work, and had that strange feeling that you couldn’t remember driving there? What happened? Your conscious mind was otherwise occupied… maybe going over your grocery list, thinking about a conversation you had or were going to have, or listening to the radio… and your subconscious handled the driving for you.
Sometimes smokers find themselves lighting a cigarette, only to realize they have one already burning in the ashtray, or a person finds themselves on the couch with their hand in a bag of potato chips, without even realizing they’ve grabbed the bag. We do so many things automatically… either without thinking at all, or only giving it a slight thought. It makes sense to take charge of these automatic behaviors so they can work for you instead of against you. Again, that’s where hypnosis comes in.
Clients sometimes even report they just “forgot” to snack while sitting in front of the TV or forgot to light a cigarette after dinner. Working with the subconscious mind—where all habits reside—can make change easier than trying to willpower your way through it.
Eastburn Hypnotherapy Center would love to help you change your habits for the better. Feel free to reach out to us anytime to learn more about smoking cessation and athletic performance hypnosis.