I am in the middle of starting a lot of new things in my life. Balancing them can be a juggling act, but I was thinking about how many things I am starting and yet how I am stuck trying to quit just a couple of things. It made me think: is it harder to quit something than start something? My immediate response is yes. It is so hard to quit things you might need to or want to. It takes a lot of time and you fall off the horse often. It doesn't happen overnight.
And yet, we could say the same for starting something. You have to continue to do something new in order to make it a habit. It takes time and consistency to do this. Whether that be, starting an exercise program, or reading one book a month.
Quitting is so much more difficult in how much time it may take in the long run though. As we have often heard from those with addictions, it is difficult to quit something that has become such an ingrained habit.
But you know what I think may be THE most difficult?
Changing habits.
Changing your habits requires you to quit one thing to start anew. For example, changing your eating habits for better health, or paying cash instead of using a credit card. You are not just quitting something, but trying to replace it with a better habit.
And I think we need to acknowledge that kind of difficulty. Changing habits is amazing and makes you better down the road. But it means having to quit one habit (practically cold turkey) in order to create a new one. I think this is why diets fail and being debt free have been so difficult for many people to achieve. We don't see it as two separate actions in one.
While we also know that doing any of these things takes time, it might be harder in regards to changing habits because it could take you twice as long! I have been experiencing that with my journey to pay off my debt. I will see progress and then there are slow times where I don't see my balance dropping any faster than the last month. I get impatient, my mind wanders, and I arrive at Amazon's webpage to purchase items to do other projects I have thought of in the mean time. That slows down my ultimate goal though.
So if you are trying to change habits in this new year, February is a month that people tend to fall out of their focus to make those changes. Don't let that happen to you! Acknowledge that this is a process that takes time. Try to identify small successes you were excited about seeing when you began, or remember your why for making the change to begin with. Keeping pushing forward as we move into this next month.
When most people quit, you will not.
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