Habits are behaviors that are powered by thoughts and repeated on a regular basis. They are patterns of thinking… habits of thought, habits of how you act and react, what you say and how you say it, and habits of what you do.
Conscious thoughts form habits (actions and reactions; behavior) and repeated frequently enough, become ingrained as attitudes which produce habits of behavior automatically, without a conscious thought.
They are observable and measurable and easy for others to see, but perhaps not as observable and measurable for you to see.
There are good habits and bad habits. One has benefits and the other has consequences.
Habits are not yet “attitudes.” Let only good habits of thought and actions become become repeated frequently enough to become ingrained as attitudes. Catch the bad habits before they become “bad” attitudes and eliminate them.
Notable Thoughts About Habits
“Your habits (and attitude), whether good or bad, will ultimately determine your quality of life.” – Dennis Waitley (emphasis added)
“To change a bad habit make a conscious decision, then act out the new behavior.” – Maxwell Maltz (Note: Stop thinking about the bad behavior and take physical action with the new behavior)
“Habits repeated frequently enough become ingrained as attitudes (both good and bad) which automatically trigger actions and reactions, without a conscious thought.” RAC
Commit this rule to memory:
Rule #4 – Through repetition of thoughts, your actions and reactions become habits.
Notes in progress:
But habits run on thoughts
While habits aren’t thoughts themselves, they are triggered and sustained by thinking patterns.
Think of it like this:
- Thoughts = the wiring
- Habits = the current flowing through it
Conscious thoughts form habits of actions and reactions and repeated frequently enough, become ingrained as attitudes which produce habits of behavior on auto-pilot, with a conscious thought.
You can change behavior first, but lasting change happens when thought patterns are addressed too.
theattituderules.com 