Are you doing things to yourself that you would really rather not do?  I read an interview with actor Ewan MacGregor a few months ago.  He had been something of a hell-raiser.  He chain-smoked and drank alcohol as if every day were going to be his last.  (I’d bet that if he weren’t an A-list celebrity, he might well have been an overeater, too.)  Then after he and his wife had children, he reconsidered his bad habits and their potential impact on his life.  He decided that he would take action then and there to stop doing things that would likely prematurely shorten his earthly time with his kids.  His motivation to quit smoking was stronger than his desire to smoke.  These were behaviors that he had chosen to do and which he later chose not to do.

The same is true whether we’re talking about overeating or taking drugs.  Addiction is a major obstacle to health.  But you already knew that.

When we want to stop engaging in behaviors that are not good for us, the first thing we have to do is to admit that we are deriving some positive benefit from the behavior.  For example, what are the positive impulses satisfied by smoking?  Well, depending on the person, they might include relaxation (“I smoke to relax”); they might include time alone (“I can’t smoke at the office.  I’ll go outside.”); they might include status in a social caste (“All the cool people smoke.”).  For every smoker the list may be different.  And note that this has NOTHING to do with the negative effects of smoking on the body.  People smoke for positive reasons.

The same is true when weight loss is the issue.  Every obese person overeats for positive intent.  If they could get their positive intentions met another (healthier) way, they’d do it.

What are the positive intentions behind your negative behaviors.

Are your negative behaviors signs of stress?  Click here for a way to deal with stress.