My discussion group last night talked about the process of change. It is clear that for an individual to sustain behavior change(ie quitting smoking, losing weight, breaking a chronic habit), one's belief has to change. Force of will, fear, and external pressure are all known to be very poor change agents. It is only when a belief changes that people can change ingrained habits. How does one change a belief? To change a belief, either a new perception has to arise or the meaning one assigns to an old perception has to change.
An example of the first would be when someone realizes that they are eating for a very different reason than hunger. The new perception is that they are eating to spite their spouse or parent who badgers them about over-eating. If they become aware of such a process, a change in behavior can result if they choose to stop the war. If they choose to love themselves more than they need to spite their irritator, the behavior can disappear into the nothingness from which it came.
An example of the second path would be if someone came to value friends and social connection more than the rush and relaxation they get from cigarettes. If they came to see their behavior as more disruptive and counter to their true goals of connection and friendship(new meaning assigned to old perception), they would be deeply motivated to change.
In both cases, changing perceptions led to changing beliefs. In turn, the new beliefs paved the way for changing behavior and the change was not difficult. It just quietly happened. There was no drama.
An example of the first would be when someone realizes that they are eating for a very different reason than hunger. The new perception is that they are eating to spite their spouse or parent who badgers them about over-eating. If they become aware of such a process, a change in behavior can result if they choose to stop the war. If they choose to love themselves more than they need to spite their irritator, the behavior can disappear into the nothingness from which it came.
An example of the second path would be if someone came to value friends and social connection more than the rush and relaxation they get from cigarettes. If they came to see their behavior as more disruptive and counter to their true goals of connection and friendship(new meaning assigned to old perception), they would be deeply motivated to change.
In both cases, changing perceptions led to changing beliefs. In turn, the new beliefs paved the way for changing behavior and the change was not difficult. It just quietly happened. There was no drama.
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