How To Get Back On Track When Old Habits Creep Back

Over the eight years I've been writing on this project, I go through what I refer to as seasons.

One of those seasons, I am focused and on track. I am ready to heal, to create goals and be focused on reaching them. Let's call this season Flow. I'm doing daily journaling, taking coursework from teachers, reading helpful books on healing and modalities and I'm a sponge for learning. I treat my body and mind well. I feel inspired and tied to my soul. I am in Flow.

Then there is a season where I am not in flow. Let's call this season Resist. I notice for me that it starts when I am overwhelmed and experiencing outside stressors. It can happen slowly or abrupt, but I tend to tell myself there are other things that need my time and attention more than my practices and I fall back to old habits that bring me comfort. Some are as simple as watching mindless television or doom scrolling on social media. I notice it is most bad when I am uncomfortable in silence, reaching for distractions and know I should get back to all the practices I have learned, but I am resisting it for whatever reason.

I know there are other seasons I have experienced, but I've been focused on these two - Flow and Resist - lately as I've found myself in the latter for the last few months. I am at that level of healing to realize and recognize the pattern. Now I need to get back on track.

Have you noticed a similar pattern for yourself? If so, here is what helps you get back on track.

Start with acknowledgement and permission

• First and foremost, I have learned from wonderful teachers that we cannot always be in Flow no matter how committed we are.
• Life is duality so in order to be in Flow, we have to experience and learn from Resist.
• Write down or tell yourself, it is okay to have a season of Resist if my body and mind need it.
• By giving yourself permission, you will start to move out of Resist and back to a neutral place.

Get curious: Observe your choices

• Take a journal, notes app or send yourself emails observing your habits.
• A lot of what we do is subconscious. We do what we think we need to do or what feels comforting in a moment.
• Just like tracking workouts or keeping a food journal, it helps us to see the activities we are doing in order to motivate ourselves to do something different.

Start small: Replace Resist habits with Flow habits

• Start small by replacing something that you know is not helping you with a healthier one.
• It might be to stop listening to stories that make you feel fear and replace it with stories that lift your spirits. Or replace a happy hour with a walk.
• One better choice per day will lead to more better choices.
• I have gone cold turkey cutting out a lot of bad habits at once and have taken the gradual approach. What you choose depends on your motivation levels, but a gradual approach will be easier to maintain in the long run.

Keep building and replacing

• Continue the habit changes gradually. As you move more into flow, you will feel inspired and recognize the positive changes you have implemented.
• See this as a day by day practice to Observe and Replace.
• It can be very helpful to create a list of what you hope to Replace so when you feel ready to tackle the next habit, you have identified those priorities.
• One more tip: Give yourself grace. This is one of the hardest things to do as a human and you are amazing for working on it for yourself. You can do it!