Question about beliefs and habits.

[quiethumir]

Ok we know that it takes 21-30 days to change a habit. And also several users of this forum believe that beliefs create reality.

My question is: is it possible to eliminate/change a habit instantly just by changing the beliefs behind the habit?

[Clint Cora]

I think it is possible to have a very sudden change of habit based on the change in belief. However, I think the underlying change must be pretty drastic to do that.

I have a friend who was a smoker as was his wife. As you can appreciate, smoking is very hard to kick and this is especially true for smokers who do not really even want to quit.

Well, my friend and his wife had their first child. Some time later, they heard their daughter coughing from the second hand smoke. This incident sparked a bit of a shock for them.

The concern for their daughter's health was so strong that it changed their belief about smoking and they both quit smoking cold turkey!

So this is a good example of how sudden change is possible but I don't think it happens very often.

[raykilleen]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

Ok we know that it takes 21-30 days to change a habit. And also several users of this forum believe that beliefs create reality.

My question is: is it possible to eliminate/change a habit instantly just by changing the beliefs behind the habit?

Un-programming the mind through a systematic method that allows the user understanding of one’s true inner nature usually takes some time, a key step is to recognize the illusion behind all belief.

[jbsmith]

It takes both...changing your beliefs that have led to or have been created to support your habit AND a disciplined effort over time to change that habit.

Why?

A habit is actually supported by a neural pathway through the brain - think of it as a well worn path through the forest. If you veer off that path, this creates a certain amount of pain and we are programmed to avoid pain so the push is always to return back to the well-worn path.

In effect, changing a habit is re-training the brain, creating a new neural pathway so that it becomes the new "path through the forest"

Now, it is the fundamental change in a belief that will help motivate you to go through the ongoing process of changing the path - in effect making it easier and giving you the motivation to re-train your brain.

So it starts with the change in belief, but it ends with a concerted effort to re-train your brain to align with your new beliefs.


Jeff

[Anagogy]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

Ok we know that it takes 21-30 days to change a habit. And also several users of this forum believe that beliefs create reality.

My question is: is it possible to eliminate/change a habit instantly just by changing the beliefs behind the habit?

In my way of thinking, beliefs are habits -- habits of thought.

However, I have seen people who have smoked for 20 plus years instantly let go of that habit after just one hypnotherapy session. That doesn't always happen, mind you, but it's pretty g** d*** impressive when it does, if I do say so myself.

So the answer is, if you could move yourself into a state whereby you could really accept, at a deep level of your being, a new framework of cognition or triggers then you can change habits faster. It's not that things have to take a long time, its just that identity generally resists change, because change is usally threatening to identity. It "changes" it, you see. In a sense, it has to die to change. Change is scary . This is why it usually has to happen gradually. There is a lot of psychological resistance to change.

[quiethumir]

Thank you all for your interesting input