Habits

Habits are often described as difficult to change. We are told that transformation requires effort, discipline, and persistence.

And, indeed, habits are not something we can simply remove.

Not without replacing them.

When a habit disappears, it leaves a void, and that void will inevitably be filled. 

This is why breaking an addiction is so challenging: because often another addiction will replace it.

Change is not about elimination. It is about substitution.

And sometimes, the smallest shift is enough to open a whole new world right in front of us. Let's take a look at a very simple example.

Most people, without ever thinking about it, put on the same shoe first every morning. And when asked which one, they often need a moment to think about it.

Yet, left or right, it does not matter.

What matters is this: tomorrow morning, let's put on the other shoe first.

No other changes are made, and yet, something feels wrong, something has already shifted. We'll have interrupted an automatic pattern and replaced it with a conscious choice. This is how change begins.

The brain's primary role is to keep us safe. For this reason, it tends to resist anything unfamiliar, interpreting change as a very real threat. This is why it is essential to begin with small, seemingly insignificant adjustments.

Such changes allow the brain to experience something new quickly realising that there is no danger in sight. Over time, changes will be perceived as reasonably safe, and once that happens, more meaningful transformations can quite easily follow.

Fact:
A habit cannot be eliminated. It can only be replaced.

Fun Fact:
The first two days you may feel uncomfortable, frustrated. Even angry! You may feel a strong pull towards your usual way.
Stay with it, instead.
By the third day, it will feel much more natural already.
And before you know, you'll find yourself smiling, amused, even laughing at how something so small can feel unexpectedly empowering.