“Healthy Habits” Blog #56

Whats on your mind when you wake up every morning? It doesn’t take much to figure

out that fear, stress and worry are the main ingredients for poor mental health.

Following is a brilliant piece of prose that I found while reading Sean Covey’s Book;

“Seven Habits of Highly Effective ….”

WHO AM I?

“I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will

push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half

the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them

quickly and correctly. I am easily managed - you must merely be firm with me. Show

me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it

automatically. I am the servant of all great individuals and, alas, of all failures as well.

Those who are great I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the

intelligence of a human. You may run me for a profit or run me for ruin — It makes no

difference to me, take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your

feel. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you. WHO AM I?

“I AM HABIT”

How important are the Daily Habits of our lives? Our habits can wear us down in many

ways. There are habits of bad eating. Habits of bad friendships. Habits with drugs and

alcohol and lies. Our habits of being with the wrong people and doing the wrong things

day after day can destroy our self confidence and self worth. Our habits form a pattern

to either build us up or break us down. Our habits can be a recipe for disaster, or a

recipe for success. Some repetitive bad habits are thinking negatively, blaming others

and putting off important things to do. These are countered by Good habits of

exercising daily (30 minutes of exercise releases Endorphins into the body which are

natural stress releasers). Reading and meditating and saying affirmations to self.

Examples of good affirmations are always prefaced with positive words after “I AM”…..

“I Am aligned with goodness, I AM balanced, I AM courageous, I AM disciplined,

I AM enlightened, I AM fearless, I AM goodness, I AM healthy, I AM integrity”. I do this ten

times for each letter through the alphabet. After my morning prayer, a big bottle of

fresh water, maybe two bottles start my good habits I know this helps flush out the

“toxins” in my body, making me feel renewed.

Mornings when ready, I take a good half hour walk, saying affirrmations all the while

on my walk. Breakfast is important to me and I choose healthy food in place of

sweets. IF I cannot exercise, I find ten minutes for deep breathing, quiet and peaceful

prayer. My day is immediately more focused and much improved.

A famous writer Samuel Smiles said it like this:

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act,

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character,

sow a character and you reap a destiny”.

Every single day is made up of all our habits - WHAT ARE THEY? It is important to point

out, that we are stronger than any bad habits! That being said, we can change bad

habits immediately! This is because our mind is in complete control of what we do.

So when we wake up in the morning and go to the mirror we can say, “I AM a good

person. Thank you God for helping me choose wisely today".

First, I decide not to lie to myself. It is only then, I can see my authentic self.

This “Higher Self” is when I am able to take control over my life. Understand we need to

spend time with a person who believes in us and builds us up, not tears us down. A bad

habit involves “caretaking other people” with a sense of neediness. This brings in a

feeling of hopelessness and allows for more disrespectful behavior without any

consequences. Each of us need to be respected. First we start with respect for ourself.

Only then can we demand respect unconditionally. Bounderies must be in place for

our own integrity or we will never be respected. There must be “Tough Love” in place for

many of those close to us. REMOVE those people who fill a “social vacuum in our lives”.

This means don’t be afraid of being alone! It is far better to have quality than quantity.

One might be lonely for a while, but in our alone-ness, we find a “higher purpose”.

it is better to start over and be alone then being with someone who hurts you.

Start new and. pray to find a religious outlet and a healthy search for new friends.

People should be in our life to give us positive feedback, honest loving support and

healthy, fun loving memories!

Every day habits of negativity should not control us! We are not here to create turmoil,

cause havoc and bring in darkness - Truthful, honest, healthy habits build us up. We

need to become stronger everyday with inner higher self direction. I got to a point in

my life where I felt I really needed counseling. I saw a very experienced forty year

veteran in psychology who opened my eyes. He said to me: “You are addicted to

unhealthy drama”. He went on to tell me that “Healthy, normal, good people appeared

boring to me.” Alarmed, I asked him why this was? He smiled at me saying:

“You have lived in a family with such dysfunction for so long, that you were only

attracted to people who had alot of chaos around them because this felt natural to

you”. I was so taken aback as I thought about it - I realized he was absolutely correct.

So I set out to break that habit. I got up every morning and prayed a little prayer when I

looked in the mirror. I told myself I will attract healthy, supportive, good people into my

life. I told myself as I walked twice a day for thirty minutes each time, “I AM a good,

healthy, peace-filled person”. Breaking this habit, I said to myself “with God in my life, I

have nothing to fear”

I have never stopped doing my affirmations every single day.

As I go on my walks, I do affirmations and I become more and more centered. Healthy

Habits start every single morning with a prayer while still in bed. Simply said: “Help me

Lord, I cannot do it alone today, thank you”.

Breakfast is important. Eat something healthy. Try fruit, yogert, all grain cereal, free

range eggs, and/or protein bar for snack. Then lunch can be fruit smoothie or soup and

salad protein snack and dinner is more salad with fish and lots of vegetables, potatoes,

or hot soup. Water is major: I try to drink one half of my body weight: (If 120 pounds)

60 oz. = 4 bottles of purified water. = 15 oz. bottles= 4) I wake up and drink one to two

bottles in the morning. Later in the afternoon another water and one at night before my

dinner. NO dark television shows, they are too disturbing. Even the news at times can

be so graphic I turn it off. Above all Daily Habits need to be Healthy. Higher self driven.

We can all do this, a little bit at a time.

Each of us can learn to be at peace with being alone. Time alone is strengthening.

Quiet time is very healing and a time to connect with the Holy Spirit within each of us.

It’s time now for courage to approach the wall of fear in our lives, and ask for help.

See the wall turn into a doorway where HE is waiting to help us grow.

“Can you Help me have healthy habits today Lord”?

NOW LISTEN TO SONG FOR TODAY - CLICK PLAY BUTTON IN VIDEO BELOW