Breaking A Habit

Breaking a habit doesn't have long term effects; outgrowing one does.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

Breaking A Habit

The term “breaking a habit” is such a part of our culture that it seems an upstream swim to semantically take it on, but I like a good swim.

I answered a query one day about the best way to break a habit. Here’s what I said:

“Broken habits repair themselves. Habits outgrown leave town for good.”

Broken habits suggest willpower which is the weakest agent for change on planet earth. It’s a sprinter in a marathon's world.

Former President Obama admitted when he was in office that he still smoked occasionally. Putting any political view you may have about him aside for a moment, I think most would agree that he’s a pretty educated guy with a lot of discipline. But, even his brilliance and his willpower weren’t enough to break his habit.

He was like the hundreds of thousands of smokers I've presented my seminars to. He, like many of them, probably made previous willpower attempts to break the habit, but to no avail.

But, regarding old habits, I doubt the former president, like many of us, will ever wear his hair again as he did as a teenager. I'm sure he would laugh at the suggestion. He won’t do that because he’s outgrown that habit. It doesn’t make sense to him anymore. And reportedly, he finally outgrew smoking in 2011.

When you outgrow something, the gravitational pull is suspended and your habit floats away.

Here comes my broken record message again: Noticing a habit, while you are in the middle of it, is the interruption routine that puts you at the doorstep of change. When you finally step through, the old habit will no longer fit.

Repeating this noticing and interrupting routine weakens the hold of the habit pattern and presents the opportunity to grow into a new way.

Outgrowing the old way and growing into a new way is a process. It may look like an instant break for someone who makes a permanent change quickly like we sometimes see in hypnosis, but upon deeper inspection it’s a progression from the old to the new.

Outgrown habits are like faded memories – they just don’t have the allure to attract us anymore.

Think of anything that you’ve outgrown, and in retrospect, you’ll notice the process. More to the point, you know at the deepest level that it doesn’t make sense to you anymore. It’s no longer important.

If the quality of your life is being interfered with by a recurring routine, it’s time to take notice. The more often you notice and interrupt, the less likely you are to repair a broken habit.

All the best,

John