Changing your lifestyle can sometimes be a difficult thing to manage. It will require a definite commitment on your part to be effective. You will also need to decide just how big a change you may want to make in your life and how quick you may decide to incorporate that change into your lifestyle.
The hard part of making a change is that we are all creatures of habit. We settle into a comfortable daily routine and go about our daily lives in this “comfort mode” as a result. Suddenly, something unexpected happens and we are forced out of our “comfort mode” at a time when we may not be prepared to deal with a sudden change. The big question here is whether or not you want to small changes now or be forced into making drastic changes later.
The truth of the matter is pretty simple. It’s a lot easier to make small changes than big ones. This creates less disruption to your daily routine and is a simpler process that will enable you to adjust your lifestyle in a manner that will allow you to effectively deal with a crisis. Unfortunately, you will have to change some of your daily routines in order to accomplish this change.
It can be difficult to change our habits but there is a simple way that you can solve this problem. This is where the “Substitution Method” comes into play. It’s a lot easier to substitute one habit for another one. The trick is to substitute a better or more productive habit for one that is less productive. Many times our habits can produce more negative effects than positive ones. By substituting a positive habit for a negative one, we can change our lifestyle in an easier and more direct manner.
Simple things like taking a lunch with you to work instead of eating out each day are just one example. You will save money in the process and probably end up eating healthier as a result. Put the money aside and you change from being a “spender” to a “saver”. You may have even substituted a good habit for a bad one out of convenience or without realizing it. Maybe you used to change the oil on your vehicle and now you’ve gotten into the habit of letting someone else handle this chore. Perhaps it’s time you changed back. You may even want to drag out your travel mug and start taking a cup of coffee with you in the morning instead of paying exorbitant prices at a coffee shop or convenience store.
The end result of changing your negative habits for positive ones is that you will be better able to adjust to change and you may even save some extra money in the process.
Riverwalker
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6 comments:
This is so true May-B. Have you ever read any Carlos Castaneda books? I know they are kind of far out, but there are many valuable nuggets in those books. Your post reminds me of one in particular.
Actually, it's from a spin-off book of Castaneda, from an author by the name of Victor Sanchez. The book is called "The Teachings of Don Carlos". Sanchez took all of Don Juan Matus' and Carlos Castaneda's (Don Carlos) work and systematically organized it into a simple methodology by which any man or woman could practice and work towards becoming an impeccable warrior/man of power.
One of the first techniques is called an energy inventory.
The practitioner writes down every thing they do for a week or for one cycle, such as the average work week. Then they go back and see how much energy they are putting into non-productive, destructive, or useless activities. They then of course make adjustments. Don Carlos says that to make meaningful changes, one must have the energy to do so. Therefore, we find out where we can gather extra energy by taking the inventory and cutting out the waste.
Anyway, I feel your post touches on a HUGE need of really anyone and everyone who is trying to become better,stronger,wiser,more prepared,and of course older.
Joel, Riverwalker posted this, not I. Anyhoo, no I haven't read any of those, will have to add them to my list. Thanks!
Practical advice, and you might mention learning to do all those little things that you pay someone else to do.
To: Neil
Unfortunately, too many of us spend our hard-earned money paying someone else to do a number of things that we could just as easily do ourselves. All it usually takes is learning the best way to do it.
Thanks Neil.
RW
Hi! I just found your blog and I'm encouraged. You're right about making small habit changes. It seems like every small good habit change I make has a ripple effect. Right now I'm teaching myself to use one chicken to make 5 meals, and it's not only cheaper but has health benefits. Then by doing this I stumbled on how to can soup. One small change leads to another.
Do you know of any active prepper groups in Fort Worth or West of Fort Worth? This is great info on these two posts and I love the blog. Thanks for keeping us educated. best, Beau
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