No. The answer is no.
Drop old habits that do not help you. Pretty easy thing to do, until . . . . , you are feeling bad. Or, you are feeling good, or who knows what the mechanism is, but they will not go with out a fight.
They will come calling . . . and their arguments will be persuasive. Who are “they” ? I would say, you might call them many things, sub-personalities within us, or voices in your head, or demons, or entities, or just a knot of neurons that grew in your your brain, vestiges of childhood, or ideas we adopted in college or picked up from some bad influence. “They” do exist, and they are distinct from that part of you that wishes to be shut of them. The “you” that wants to develop, change and grow, build and seek, mature and re-new is different and distinct from the things that want to indulge in bad habits. They are not you, and you can see because they are persuading somebody, that somebody it you, the executive or governor.
Point is “they” are alive and animated and have persuasive power. They’ll say, “c’mon you tired, you deserve a break, or you deserve some fun.” Or, they will appeal with Nihilism or resentment – “it doesn’t matter, everything sucks anyway, screw them!” Perhaps you are suffering, “suffering is no fun, indulge and you’ll feel better.”
This is my experience anyway. The persuasions came and there they were. I was tempted, I agreed, and I even mulled over justifications and minimization strategies. This experience was reminiscent of an encounter good salesman who almost talks you into their product, and they are so good at selling you want to give in, but you know deep down you don’t want that damn contraption they are selling. You know the buyers remorse would be inevitable and you’d be stuck with the thing and the bill. What I found interesting, is that my recent victory over “the salesman” was rooted in the word “no” – sort of a flat implaccable “Ya, but NO.”
Say no. There are many other tactics you can add to this – but these are no the point of today’s blog, and may even be secondary in terms of power to a simple flat – “no.” You are not saying no to new experiences or shutting doors to positive opportunity. Nope, when it comes to bad habits that have been plaguing you, you know exactly what’s coming. Nope.
If your “no” is being over-ridden, then you at least have clarity on the size and seriousness of the problem you are dealing with. You’re a slave. Your sub-personalities are running your show- or demons, or entities or whatever you call them. Good to know, something worth figuring out.
Ben Wagner (210)
Member The 365 Commitment
