On How Maintaining a Daily Spiritual Practice is Necessary for Change

If you want to make changes in your life, whether it's a new meditation practice, a new thought pattern, a new way of being..a new dance move...it takes PRACTICE. And practice takes effort and commitment and dedication! It takes days, months, and sometimes years to identify a pattern you want to change, become aware of the pattern, find a pattern to replace it with, and then practice it.

Think of when you learned something - whether it was golf or tennis; or an instrument; or a new job..you had to do the following:
1. Look at everything that you have to do to learn it.
2. Identify the behaviors that get in the way and be willing to change them.
3. Start with ONE thing and work on that ONE THING until you get it right.
4. Then add another thing with the other thing and practice those things together.

Let's say you want to learn to practice saying "no," because you have a tendency to say "yes" to things you don't want to do:
1. Identify the times when you said "yes," when you meant to say, "no."
2. How did it feel? What did it cost you? What price did you pay? Who were you being when you said "yes" when you meant "no"? What were you thinking when you said "yes," when you meant "no?" How did you feel when you said "yes" when you meant "no"?
3. Now decide and be willing to commit to saying "no" when you mean "no." Think of previous times and the most repetitive times when you say "yes" when you mean "no" and begin imagining yourself saying "no". Practice it internally until it feels ok. You may even want to ask a friend to help you or practice in front of the mirror. ("No" is a complete sentence. :-))
4. When the opportunity arises to say "no," when you typically say, "yes," - say it and observe the interaction. How did you feel? Was it uncomfortable? If so, GREAT! You are doing the right thing! Give yourself a "high five" for doing something really hard, especially if other people didn't like it! And then check your insides - who were you being and what were you doing when you said "no". Journal about it. Get it out. You got this!
5. Practice. Rinse. Repeat.

And you just keep practicing one behavior at a time, one moment at a time, one day at a time until it becomes natural. Be loyal to yourself, be a cheerleader for yourself! You TOTALLY got this!

Books I read from:

Courage to Change
https://a.co/d/5TaPXOr

One Day at a Time
https://a.co/d/bttdHPo

Hope for Today
https://a.co/d/bz4EsII

Language of Letting Go
https://a.co/d/dEBRstu

Journey to the Heart
https://a.co/d/decrPOC

Strengthening My Recovery
https://a.co/d/bSzF0DQ

#codependency #12stepprogram #spiritualpractices #recovery #drjoedispenza #lettinggo #detachment