Habits are routine behaviors that happen on autopilot. Throughout your life your thoughts, feelings, and emotions act as programs, telling your body what to do, just like a computer. An interesting book by Dr. David Hawkins entitled, The Map of Consciousness, explains how lower levels of consciousness correlate with feelings such as fear, grief, shame, and anger, and lead to sickness and disease. Higher levels of consciousness involve feelings of peace, joy, gratitude and love, which bring a person closer to great health and vitality. What we think, becomes how we feel. How we feel, becomes what we think. Consciousness creates your reality. Below I’ll discuss 5 habits which function from a lower state of consciousness, and how to transition to more empowering beliefs.
- Focusing on negative thinking.
Have you ever found yourself with spiraling thoughts of overwhelm, fear, anger, depression, shame, guilt, jealousy or judgment? You’re probably not alone. When you use techniques like mindfulness, meditation, or something as simple as taking a deep breath, you can slow down these thoughts. Headspace gives a great example.
- Spending too much time on social media.
Many studies have shown that individuals who spend an increased amount of time on social media are more likely to develop anxiety and depression. It is easy to compare your accomplishments to those of others on social media. With an overload of social media, we can also create a distorted sense of reality constantly viewing pictures of perfection (talk about instagram vs. reality). Try giving yourself a time limit to using social media. If you use it for hours in a day, work your way down to only using it for no more than an hour or 30 minutes. Don’t use social media for an hour before bedtime, and wait at least an hour before checking it in the morning. You’ll be surprised with all the time you reclaim!
- Making frequent assumptions.
It’s all too easy to make assumptions. We let our minds fill in the blanks with OUR interpretation of what we see and hear. Our own interpretation works on what we know based on past experiences. It’s easy to connect dots that aren’t even really there, and jump to inaccurate conclusions. This prevents you from taking responsibility, keeps you stuck in the past, fosters a negative mindset, and because they’re likely inaccurate, will upset and push away others. If you catch yourself slipping to a default of making assumptions, take a minute to stop. Recognize that they happen, dont be afraid to ask questions, listen with full intention, and bring mindfulness into your everyday life.
- Doubting yourself.
Self doubt occurs when we lack confidence or feel incapable of doing the things we need to do. Self doubt keeps us stuck, living in past experiences and mistakes, and is a byproduct of comparing ourselves to others. When we doubt ourselves, were functioning out of a place of fear. Fear actually creates a disruption in our brain waves, altering your ability to think and make productive decisions. To stop this pattern of self doubt, stop, take a deep breath and say to yourself, Inhale confidence, exhale fear. Try shifting your focus to something different and give your brain a boost of optimism. Studies have shown, calling in feelings of gratitude, peace, and love is highly predictive of overall wellbeing.
