Beware of your actions for they become your habits, beware of your habits for they become your character, beware of your character for it becomes your destiny.”

We all make mistakes. In fact, being prone to make mistakes is part of the human nature. But there is a difference between making mistakes on our journey in life through trial and error and letting ourselves drift through life imitating those around us and picking up bad habits along the way. Silly, useless bad habits that slowly but surely destroy us — body, mind, and soul. And for what? For lack of thought! For lack of caring about our own self-development!For lack of love!

Bad habits include smoking, use of drugs or alcohol, excessive eating, compulsive gambling, addiction to the internet, or television, or dependency on others at the expense of independence and individuality. Although bad habits are pleasurable in the beginning, their eventual development into emptiness and torment is inevitable as they force us to act in ways contrary to our true nature. Our true nature wants to express love, compassion, kindness, patience, and courage.

Bad habits weigh down the soul. On the other hand, living a clean, well-planned, and useful life sets the spirit free. This feeling of tranquility, and inner peace is found when you sit with a caring friend, when you live a healthy, moral lifestyle, a heart filled with sincerity and hope, and when you help mankind by making things easy, forgiving, and assisting — all with an attitude of friendliness, caring, and wisdom.

The best is of course not to start but if you are on the way or somehow addicted, there is always a way out. Thought power and will power can erase even the deepest long standing habits. The mind has the key that can unlock the door of a bad habit. Give the best of your effort, concentration, and attention to the new habit until it takes over and becomes a natural, effortless, and automatic part of your repertoire.

You can use activities such as playing and watching sports, listening to or playing music, television, movies, reading, writing, exercise, arts and crafts, board games, crossword or jigsaw puzzles, gardening, shopping, cooking, cleaning, taking a nap and so on to ward off the thoughts and impulses of bad habits.

We must surround ourselves with people who will protect us from negative actions and support our goals. Friends and family associated with our bad habits often try to pull us back. We must get through this fear to create a supportive network of people with like-minded goals who act as our spiritual bodyguards, protecting us from ourselves in moments of vulnerability

We can gain momentum by setting reasonable goals, taking small steps, achieving modest successes, and building from there. Break bad habits of thought, attitude, emotion, desire, energy, and action so you can emerge from the past and find yourself renewed: fresh, spontaneous, and in the moment. Keep feeding the positive habit to make it stronger and starving the negative habit to make it weaker.

Every day is a new beginning — a chance to leave off old habits, old friends, old places that are not beneficial or positive in your life and to steer your course in life towards all that uplifts your own heart and the hearts of others. Change is difficult. Some strong bad habits may take years to break. Tests, trials, and temptations come. Setbacks occur. Back and forth movement between old and new patterns is a natural part of the process.
Do not give up.