The Five Levels of Deep Habit And Behavior Change

 We develop patterns, which we call habits.

They're like being bundled up in warm blankets with soft pillows on a cold morning; comforting, supportive, relaxing. Who would want to willingly change that? Continuing the metaphor, it can feel like moving to a sleeping bed on a hard floor, no air mattress, and the heater isn't working.

Since we are in a period of paradigm-shifting, life-altering, stress-inducing, overwhelming change, I thought it might be helpful to understand why it's so difficult to get new habits to stick.

Firstly, remind thyself that all change is spawned of fear, force, or pain.

No one wakes up thinking, "I love my life! Let me see how I can change it." We change because we see no alternative and because the "old system" wasn't cutting it anymore. Maybe times are different. Maybe we're different. But something must adjust, and sadly it's us. Being inspired to change by "negative" feelings also automatically puts us at a disadvantage as we're not thinking clearly to begin with.

To that end, know that there are actually five levels we must tweak, each deeper than the one prior if we're going to make our sleeping bag become a cushy, fluffy bed.

The simplest, easiest adjustment is Environment; defined as that which "I see."

Let's say you've decided to be socially responsible and be concerned with the greater good by wearing a facemask. However, each time you leave the house, you forget your mask. An example of Environment change could be relocating your mask to a hook by the front door. Now, it will prompt you to wear it. Simple. Easy.

But it might not stay with you if you don't change the next level: Behaviors, that which "I do." If I don't modify those, my Environment reverts to unsupportive.

Continuing with our illustration, upon returning home, you remove your mask and put it in the washing machine. That makes sense, but that behavior means that when you leave, Environment is no longer provoking you to wear a mask. Consequently, a Behavior change must take place, such as obtaining a few masks and placing them all at the front door, plus remembering to hang cleaned masks there when you finish the laundry. This alleviates the difficulty of "forgetting" to wear one.

"But, I can't keep remembering to put masks all around my house," you might reply. Welcome to level three: Capabilities, that which you "can" or "cannot" do.

Your perceived - and that's the operative word - Capabilities determine which Behaviors will stick or fade.

If your internal dialog is, "I don't have time to do this," or "I have too much else to do," you'll give up new Behaviors, putting you back to square one.

Capabilities are born of Beliefs, level four. Beliefs, despite appearing as facts to us, are really not.

They are feelings. They are not true for all but are to us. Continuing in our mask saga, if my Belief is that "masks are unnecessary and a pain in the behind" (um, poor choice of body parts for masks but you get my drift... ), then you will consider it unimportant and pointless to amend your Capabilities to reinforce that you can indeed managing a couple masks. Resultingly, new Behaviors fade, Environment becomes unsupportive, old habits returns. If my Belief changes to "I feel it's important to wear a mask, no matter how awkward," Capabilities shift, producing a positive domino effect.

With only a few hundred words, I can't really delve deep into the concept of Beliefs, as there are so many extenuating conditions that affect them. \

However, the Universal Truth they have in common is that they are the outgrowth of the deepest level, Identity, those words following "I am... "

We possess multiple Identities in which we adorn ourselves, depending on conditions. For example, my Identity of "Romantic" is certainly welcome and appropriate when it's my wife, yet would be out of line with my co-worker. Identities, like outfits, adjust to the settings in which we find ourselves. Rounding out the now over worn mask tale, if my Identity is "I am too busy to deal with this," my Belief might be "this is ridiculous;" yet again collapse the dominos. Should I alter my Identity to "I am socially responsible and concerned about spreading the virus," then Beliefs correct to "I feel it's important to figure out a way to do this." My Capabilities will now line up that empowerment. Behaviors adapt. Environment adjusts. New habit locks in.

Whether talking about pandemics, weight loss, productivity, or personal relationships, the pattern remains the same.

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Unique Magic That Can Be Created By Immense Mind Power

Power is a phenomenon that cannot be seen but obviously felt in all aspects of common life. Literarily, power means the ability or strength of doing anything or forcing others to act according to one's will. It is basically poles apart from the definition of the word 'Power' in Physics. Yet there is a common connection between the strength and electrical power, as both can occur lots of visible changes in various fields.

Different categories of power experienced in life

If a person is physically very strong, he/she can be relied as powerful enough to carry on laborious tasks that demand enormous strength. Someone may have political power, which means he/she is able to gain control over other people politically. Monetary power enables people to spend large amounts of money to fulfill their wishes. Rarely, a few people may also possess divine power, with which they may be able to foresee the future of other people and alert them about upcoming dangers. However, mind power is something that is independent of all social and economic circumstances, which depends only on the willpower of a person.

Good and adverse effects of various types of power

All types of power can show both positive and negative effects, based on how that power is utilized. If power is used correctly, it can prove to be a boon for everyone while misuse of power can lead to seriously harmful consequences. It is not at all unethical to be powerful but the question is how that power is utilized. Often it is seen that people abuse their powers and cause a lot of harm to other people. There are numerous instances of abusing physical, political, and economic power that caused massive destruction in society. All the famous wars in history were the result of the misuse of political and military powers of over-ambitious statesmen. People even cause harm to themselves if they lose their minds basking in their powers. Usually, financially rich people feel themselves to be more powerful than all poorer persons, who cannot afford the luxuries in life that they can buy with money. On the other hand, many politically or socially powerful people abuse their powers to collect money unethically and become wealthier in life. Powerless people often suffer from an inferiority complex, due to the absence of any form of power in their life. This mentality can create further problems for them and some even adopt suicidal thoughts! Hence, the unequal distribution of all powers is mostly harmful to mankind, leading to lots of troubles everywhere. Some people feel that they should become powerful by hook or crook, not caring whether their adopted ways to power are lawful or not.

Wonderful benefits of mental power

Mental power or willpower is something that no one can snatch from a person while all other types of power can be lost at some point of time or the other. In many ancient scriptures, different uses of great mind power had been mentioned. Yogis were believed to attain immense mind power, which they used only for the good of mankind. Many religious leaders had preached the importance of mind power and asked common people to learn to train up their minds. There are a number of factors included in mind power, among which self-awareness is the most important one. A person should have a clear vision about the motto of his/her life or in simpler words, what he/she actually wants to achieve in life and whether it is right to nurture that wish. Life always presents numerous problems in the way of a person, which need to be overcome only with the self-confidence and faith. There are solutions to all problems, which can be easily found out only with a calm spirit. The strong willpower of a person can make apparently impossible things to be possible, only through earnest desire and hard work for achieving that goal.

Personally, I do not possess that high level of mind power yet, but I am working hard in improving my willpower and other mental strengths. Mindpower is not the same as the cognitive power that is a physical matter and may decrease at a ripe age. Hence, I believe that I can achieve the required mind power by following the instructions rendered by great personalities. Self-consciousness and self-control of mind are the pillars of mind power. So it is possible to attain this power only through regular discipline, as an undisciplined person cannot gain control over his/her own mind. The achievements of all other powers become easier by gaining mind power.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Unique-Magic-That-Can-Be-Created-By-Immense-Mind-Power&id=10327258