I’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately. As you can imagine, my 30-day detox program has turned my usual eating habits completely upside down. With the New Year rapidly approaching, many of us are beginning to ponder our resolutions for 2009. It seems that most of us are trying to develop “good” habits while getting rid of “bad” habits.

But aren’t all habits, good or bad, born out of a lack of consciousness? When we try to develop a habit, we are asking for a behavior to be carried out, not by the conscious mind, but by the subconscious. For example, most of us delegate repetitive tasks such as driving and brushing our teeth to our subconscious mind. We complete those tasks the way we always do them. There is no thought, no intent, just conditioning through frequent repetition until the behavior no longer requires our attention. Perhaps it seems desirable to have “good” habits of exercise, diet, or spiritual practice. Or are we, by attempting to create a habit, inviting unconsciousness into our lives?

What if we discarded most habits, good and bad, and simply woke up each morning with profound curiosity and the question: “What action would serve me right now, in this present moment?” What if our choices of what to eat, how to get ready for the day, and how to do our jobs, were born out of the conscious recognition that, in each moment, we are a new and different person? What if we met each day with a fresh perspective, a point of view that has changed because of everything we learned and experienced yesterday?

Of course certain repetitive tasks will always have to be delegated to the subconscious. Driving, typing, putting on our make-up in the morning or brushing our hair … doing these tasks out of habit frees up the conscious mind for other thoughts. But if we eat the same things over and over again, go to the same restaurants, spend our leisure time the same way every weekend, do the same work-out routine over and over … then habitual activity is taking over more and more of our lives. The more we do out of habit, the less consciousness we are bringing to our lives.

Is it a good idea to strive for making our choices on autopilot? Sure, cultivating a “good” habit may at first seem desirable. A few weeks of conscious effort are rewarded by the subconscious taking over the behavior. But every habit, every routine, eventually runs its course and no longer serves us. Without consciousness, we fail to recognize that moment in which routine needs to change. We just keep doing what we’ve always done, even when the results are no longer what we want.

In this upcoming year, do we really want to create new, “good” habits for ourselves? Perhaps we are better served to constantly evaluate what is working and what is not, to shift our behaviors and choices based on what serves us in the present moment. Instead of being creatures of habit, we would become creatures of higher consciousness.

What do you think? Leave your comment and share!

Blessings,
Andrea Hess

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Filed under: Embrace Your Highest Path and Purpose • Releasing Limiting Beliefs • Spiritual Development

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