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What inspires you to change a habit?

Is it fear? Boredom or fun? Would you play on the piano stairs?
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Marked as Best! October 23, 2009 07:35 PM
LOL. First off, those stairs are awesome! ^^ I would definitely use the stairs instead of the escalator. It looked like it would be so much fun! But, after a few years, people would have enough of the stairs and the sounds of the keys. It would get old to the ones that use the path over and over.

I think habits can be changed. No. I know habits can be changed! There's many different factors that change habits; fear, experience, family members experience, love, inspiration, and media.

For example. My boyfriend changed his drinking habits out of fear and experience. He has two DUI's and the third will put him into jail for years. He fears going to jail, which caused him to change his habits. Experience as well. The second DUI put him in the hospital because he crashed his car into a boulder. He rather not do that again. I'm so proud of him for changing his bad habit, which as well from what he told me, me being proud of him changed his habit because he knows I'm all he needs in life. ^^

As for me. I've changed a habit out of inspiration of media. For several years now, I'll I wanted to do was sit, eat, and watch T.V. I've gained 60 pounds and was still gaining the weight. I wasn't healthy. I didn't take vitamins nor exercise. My doctor told me I was gaining too much weight over such a small amount of time and told me I had to change my habits or I'll have health problems in my future. I didn't listen. I just kept my habit of sitting, eating, and watching T.V. But then, on T.V. I started to watch The Biggest Loser. They inspired me to change. They were healthier and happier while eating healthy food and exercising. They did it for themselves and for their family. The inspiration of media inspired me. I've been eating healthier and exercising now for a month, and proud to say that I've lost 13 pounds. I want to lose more, but it takes time. I will keep doing this until I hit a healthy weight and know I wont have health problems in my future.
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• Your answer was very 'inspirational'... thank you!
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October 23, 2009 03:58 PM
My personal experiences with bad habits were only changed by a gift we like to call "The gift of desperation".
Nothing else would have or could have made me change one bit.

The loss of everything (physical, mental, spiritual) was the key to my success at the practice of changing habits.
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October 23, 2009 06:27 PM
Personal experiences and a willingness to change and improve self. The support of friends, family, teachers, etc helps also.
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October 23, 2009 08:08 PM
Looking into the mirror and deciding something is wrong with the picture staring back at you. You can only really change habits when you're ready...and being ready is much different from simply saying you're ready.
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October 23, 2009 08:39 PM
knowing that the lord jesus christ died to save me from my sinful ways, he took the pain and whipping and abuse for me , because he loved me that much , and know he rose 3 days after to go and prepare a place for me.
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October 23, 2009 10:48 PM
There is no way I could resist those stairs. However I always take the stairs anyway, escalators scare me.

The majority of the bad habits I have changed I found I did so because something happened to make me realize they were bad. I've never kept a habit I knew was bad. I wouldn't say it was fear, more enlightenment.

For example I started smoking at around age 12. I knew people said smoking was bad, however my father had been smoking since age 10 and he's now 60 and healthy as a horse. My input did not agree with the facts and at that particularly rebellious age, I found experience outweighed evidence. Shortly before my 18th birthday I got sick, very sick, to the point I was coughing up blood. I quit smoking and it went away. I haven't touched a cigarette since.

I was not afraid I would die. I was not afraid I would get cancer. I was simply enlightened that smoking was hurting my health.
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October 23, 2009 11:23 PM
The things that would make me change a habit are:

1. The habit is dangerous to me or my health
2. The habit is causing serious problems in my relationships with my family
3. The habit is causing me severe social problems
4. The habit is causing serious problems at work
5. The habit is causing legal problems
6. The habit is causing me severe financial problems

I can think of many possibilities under each of these five categories, but the bottom line is that until something gets so bad you can't live with it anymore, you won't change. Many relationships, whether personal or work related, have been destroyed because someone will not change a bad habit. The only thing that will cause them to change is when they feel like they are tired of losing and feeling like a loser.

It's the old "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" scenario.
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October 24, 2009 10:42 AM
The thought that changing a particular habit will make me a better person inspires me the most. We all know that no one is perfect in this world but we could at least try to be better, right? ^^
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October 26, 2009 04:26 PM
Would I play on the piano stairs? You betcha! :)

At least, if I could... not sure how my knees would take to a lot of jumping up and down at the moment. Alas things that were once mere convenience and indulgence like escalators are more than that sometimes when you get older.

Right now it's an open question if my days of playing tennis, walking in mountains and playing on piano stairs are behind me for good, or just temporarily.

Back to what inspires me to change... well it's not always "inspiration" as such, but basically one or more of...

- "Clear and present danger"
- "Clear and present opportunity"
- Profound new insight
- The example of someone who's done it

And sometimes not even those. :)

Of course with things that are not particularly problematic, just a desire for variety and a change of scene can be enough to motivate a change.
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