Eliminate Destructive Habit Patterns

 

Habits and Destructive Patterns

Habits and patterns are either constructive or destructive.  Here are three Destructive Habit Patterns to avoid or eliminate if you want to live your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

The Survival Pattern

Everything is a struggle—from paying your bills to getting to work on time. You always seem to be just one step ahead of disaster without a penny or a second to spare. Fueled by adrenaline, you use stress to get things done. You are in a survival pattern when stress has become normal to you. When you step back and observe your behavior, you’ll find that you seek out more stressful experiences because they will make feel important…for a while.

People caught up in survival patterns are well intentioned – but shortsighted. They struggle to prioritize and figure out what really matters. This can cause physical or financial health to get out of balance.

To escape a survival pattern, remember The Midstream Catch. You must stop and realize what you are doing. Catch yourself in the middle, become aware, and make an energy-enhancing choice. You must learn to take time-outs and view the bigger picture, build your reserves, and break the cycle.

If a stressful job or relationship has unconsciously moved you into this pattern, you must decide if it is worth it. Living a life in constant disarray is not a way to thrive or grow. Once you have removed the stressor, you can change your thinking. If the stressor is out of your control, change your thoughts about it. Plan long-term, set boundaries, and avoid constantly putting yourself into situations that will cause you more stress. To escape a survival pattern,  take control of your thoughts, actions and life by making different choices that support the vision of your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

The Complacency Pattern

You’ve got things together and are getting by without worrying about survival. In a complacency pattern, life isn’t a struggle, but it’s nothing to write home about either. There is an underlying sense of boredom and laziness. There is no passion.

Complacency, on occasion, is fine. As a lifestyle, it is boring and can erode your self-esteem and personal confidence. Are you wondering what happened to the flame? You can’t be mediocre and enjoy a sensational century at the same time. You have to choose. It is one thing to be complacent for a week, but for the rest of your life?

People become complacent because they don’t believe their efforts will matter. They feel like they have already accomplished what they can and there is not enough time left for them to start a new career, relationship, improve their health, or become wealthy. This pattern will hit home for you if you have given up on your goals. Your actions have no purpose. It’s a pattern synonymous with settling and a ‘why-bother?’ kind of attitude. There’s no passion with complacency. It can make you feel tired and look older than you actually are. Setting new goals and taking action on them will re-energize you. Begin to set new goals for yourself and start to make them happen.

Make Things Happen

If you have grown complacent at work, get back in the game. Start making things happen. Make sure that your superiors recognize your contribution.

• Document your achievements. Begin managing your career as if you were climbing the ladder of success and build upon your wins. Utilize achievements at annual reviews to ask for a pay raise or to seek a new job.
• If you are self-employed, step up your game, redefine your goals, and take things to the next level. Reinvent yourself and your company.
• If you are retired and are bored out of your mind, commit to a new project, get involved somewhere that you have passion, and engage in life again.
• If you have grown complacent in your personal life, consider taking up a new sport or hobby. What have you always wanted to do? Rediscover an old passion. Change things up and take on any type of new activity that is invigorating to you.

You will break through complacency patterns by setting new goals for yourself and following through on them. By generating results you show that you are still effective in the world. Explore new horizons, whether they are personal or professional. You will know you are escaping a complacency pattern when you start to feel like a kid again—a kid with a new toy.

The Comfort Pattern

Life is good. You’ve worked hard, and you are successful—both professionally and personally. You respect yourself and are surrounded by good people. You’ve got good habits and a routine that works. But, could it be that your level of comfort is also creating some dis-ease? Deep down, do you think there is more that you would love to experience? Is the comfort beginning to hurt?

When you are in a comfort pattern, you are all about maintaining the status quo. You revel in past successes. Unlike the fiery perseverance that got you to where you are today, now you want to avoid making waves. You are no longer striving. You feel your days of hard work are behind you—but so is the pleasure of challenging yourself and being in the game. The tire around your waste and hips is starting to expand as your comfort throws you out of balance.

The challenge of a comfort pattern is that it is easy to go from being on a roll to getting in a rut. You generally stop living up to your potential and it is easy to lose your edge.

Too much comfort can get your life out of balance. Keep that edge. Always look for new ways to make a contribution and use your talents to make a difference. The 100 Year Lifestyle is about achieving the ultimate balance and enjoying that balance for a lifetime! Find a provider near you today!