I’ve talked about making exercise a habit before. A good habit is one that is beneficial to you and helps you to feel good in positive ways. Regular exercise can increase dopamine levels in your brain. Dopamine is the chemical that increases your feelings of well being, joy and elation. It’s this elevated dopamine that can keep you coming back for more, each and every day.
Bad Habits
Exercise is a great habit and forming this habit is one of the best things you can do for yourself. In the meanwhile, as you work on generating a great habit with exercise, you need to also work on getting rid of your bad habits. Bad habits hold us back, whether we recognize them as such or not. I know, for a fact, that smoking is a bad habit. I can quote you chapter and verse on the negative impact that smoking has on your health – yet each time I’ve tried to eliminate it from my daily life – I don’t quite succeed.
I once attributed that bad habit to the fact that I am so responsible everywhere else in my life that I need one place that is still rebellion in action. When you consider that smokers are treated like lepers in the modern world, then I suppose that just makes the habit that much more attractive to me.
Excuses Aside
Still as a part of my Spring Forward to Action 2007 plan, smoking still needs to go. The reasons I smoke need to be addressed. If I am smoking to relieve stress, there are better ways to do it. If I am smoking to get away from it all, there are better ways to do it. If I am smoking to silence my hunger, yes – you got it, there are better ways to do it.
But I need to build a foundation of good habits that will support me while I eliminate these bad habits. When you exercise regularly and you are feeling energetic, positive and on the go – you need your bad habits less and less. Yes, it is a trade off because continuing your bad habits may make developing your good habits harder.
Who says I want to take the easier road?
Not Setting Up For Failure
I’m not setting myself up for failure. In fact, I’m focusing on the key elements where I need to do more and if that cuts back on the time or the inclination to spend on the bad habits, well those bad habits don’t deserve the time or the inclination. I suppose I am being ambiguous, but I have found that focusing on quitting smoking doesn’t seem to work for me. So I’m just going to focus on doing everything else better and if smoking gets left behind …
…. I won’t be the one looking back.
How can you focus on your good habits to the detriment of your bad habits?
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