Resolutions: Making and Breaking Habits to Stay Pain-Free
The new year brings new resolutions for many who wish to improve their health. While many are well intentioned, not everyone will succeed in achieving lasting changes. Breaking old bad habits and forming new good ones can be difficult, but the process may be easier if you consider the following definition:
A habit, from the standpoint of psychology, is a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.
– Andrews, B.R., American Journal of Psychology 1903
Reinforcing Resolutions
Repetition is the key to habit formation because it reinforces the fixedness of the thought or feeling. This is why it is so important to practice repeating healthy activities such as stretching and exercising. On the other hand, every time you indulge in a bad habit it makes it easier to fail to resist in the future.
Back pain and neck pain could have been avoided in most cases if the individual had practiced a regular stretching and exercise routine. Aches and pains often come on after episodes of prolonged sitting. Inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle will lead to lumbago (back pain) or torticollis (a stiff neck) eventually.
In breaking a bad habit, it’s best to focus on the reinforcing elements, whether people, places, or things. What leads you act in such a repetitive way? It may help to write down everything that causes you to return to your old habit and to review the list of resolutions frequently. You can replace an item on your list with something else. For example, you could replace ice cream with yogurt or an enabling friend with a responsible one.
Choices
Ultimately, the decision is up to you. Health is a cumulative result of all the choices you’ve ever made, whether positive or negative. Set and keep goals that make sense for you, writing resolutions down may help you to succeed. Be vigilant for any obstacles that may deter you from achieving a healthy body and mind!
February 3, 2014 @ 8:59 am
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