Pain & Pleasure As Motivators

If you have ever tried to quit money splurging, smoking, drinking or to change some major behavior that you have habitually done for many years, you will know how powerful our habits are. The word habit is spelled as H-A-B-I-T. If you erase the 'H', you will still have abit of the habit. Removing the 'A', will left you bit of the habit. Now you see the picture?

Habit is deeply rooted emotions. When our subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win. Human habits are a tough nut to crack, but like any tasty nut in a hard shell, it is very rewarding to break through the barrier holding you back.

An effective way to reach inside and create new empowering habits or behaviors is to learn why we do what we do, and how much better it would be if we didn't do it!. We simply do not change long held beliefs or behaviors unless we are somehow shocked by how bad our behavior is or we are motivated to change by seeing the benefits or rewards for our new actions.

To make our own personal changes we have to get very clear about what is negative (pain) about the habit and what benefits (pleasures) we will gain by changing. List as many pain and pleasures as possible.By understanding pain and pleasure as motivators, you can act now to change your bad habits. It's one thing to know what to do, but another to do what you know. There are 2 types of habits: Doing and Not Doing.We have to continually reinforce both the pain (creating intense pain if we DON'T change) and the pleasure (creating intense pleasure if we DO change).

The more ways of emphasizing the good and bad associated with the behavior we want to change, the more likely we will continue with the new positive habit. Pain and pleasure are powerful driving forces when we learn to focus them and use them properly.