by Carolyn Gudenau

Created on: May 15, 2010

In the children’s story “The Little Engine That Could”, the lesson is that if you think you can or if you think you can’t, you’re right.

How many of us struggle to shed bad habits and/or develop good ones year after year?  A quote published in the Reader’s Digest once, tells us very simply:

Bad Habits are easy to form, yet hard to live with

Good Habits are hard to form, yet easy to live with

It is easy to eat too much, drink too much, smoke too much, sit on the couch watching too much television, gamble, lie, cheat, steal and run up credit cards to the limit. The consequences of these habits can cause a lot of discomfort. For some reason, they don’t always cause enough discomfort to motivate change.

It can be very difficult to form good habits. It takes a lot of careful thought and planning to eat wisely. Drinking in moderation and/or quitting smoking can be a daunting task, if not impossible for some. Trying to limit TV time can be challenging when others in the household are watching. Spending your time and money wisely with honest, trustworthy and healthy pursuits may seem uncomfortable at first because it’s unfamiliar for you.

We know all this to be true, yet we may feel incapable of taking the first step toward change. What keeps us frozen, unable to commit? Bad habits have become as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. Change, even good change, requires us to give up something and usually takes some effort on our part.

Actually, it’s the deciding that makes the difference and then taking the first step is easy. When your heart and your brain finally agree, moving forward seems natural. Of course, it’s hard work to keep going and stay motivated. Sometimes we need a little external motivation in the form of encouragement and inspiration from family, friends, co-workers or support groups. Great leaders, as well as books, motivational tapes and songs, can also persuade us and rekindle our fires.

Today, technology plays a huge role in motivation. If you decide to build a deck, for example, and don’t know the first thing about it, you can go online and find out how to do it, what to buy, how much the total cost of the project will be, comments from customers about the products you are purchasing and even a blog support for people working on the same type project. Before we had this level of technological support, you may have thought about it, realized or thought you couldn’t do it, and dismissed the idea, end of story!

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