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Well, we all know that everyone makes promises each New Year. How are those resolutions working out? Are all your  bad habits history, along with the clutter and that unwanted 15 pounds? I’d be overjoyed to hear that they are, but odds are it’s the resolutions that are history. Don’t worry; it’s not your fault. You are not flawed; the system is! Nothing great is ever accomplished overnight, especially if the only support you have is the achy, perhaps foggy, memory of overindulging and giving up on a healthy lifestyle during the holidays, and the “10” that replaces the “09” when you write the date.
A habit is much more than repetition of an activity. Something becomes habit because of a complex cascade of emotional and physical responses. A habit forms when it becomes easier to do something than not to, for whatever reason. Sleeping is one of our most basic habits. Most of us do it every day. Sleeping is rooted in the need to shut down for regeneration. When it’s time to meet the need, we feel an urge for a nice soft pillow, and eventually we give in, soft pillow or not, and the urge to sleep is met. Although a mindboggling series of reactions takes place to make that happen, we generally see our physical needs as being relatively simple and easy to understand. Our bodies have been handling the biochemistry since long before we ever had a clue about what was going on. We are meant to listen to our bodies and create habits that keep us in balance.
Usually we can trust the messages our bodies send us. However, sometimes an imbalance will lead to urges that aren’t healthy, as with cravings for foods that are allergens, or chemical addictions. Sometimes we even hear the right messages from the physical body and begin a bad habit anyways. Then, it isn’t rooted in a physical urge. The emotions are the root of any habit that isn’t governed by the physical. So, that includes all sorts of good and bad habits involving what we put into our bodies, our environments, our reactions to others, and our emotional responses to situations. The urge to smoke a cigarette, or eat chocolate cake, or leave dirty dishes in the sink, or yell at the kids, or procrastinate can be as strong as the urge to sleep or eat. That doesn’t mean it’s excusable, it just makes it more understandable. It shows us that it isn’t as simple as saying “I won’t continue my habit after January 1st, 2004.” The urge to continue the bad habit has to be met or eliminated. Elimination means bringing the emotional imbalance that creates the urge to the surface.
Altering the mindset behind a bad habit is the key to ending it. To change the way you look at that chocolate cake, and your need for it, changes your habit. My tool of choice for bringing the emotions into balance is Bach Flower Therapy. Dr. Bach’s studies have given us not only the flower essences which help create an emotional environment that encourages balance, but also a framework with which to view and describe the emotions. Here are some recommendations for three flowers that may be helpful:
Walnut is one great essence to use anytime new habits are being formed. It helps to relieve the insecurities that come with changes, and enables trueness to your higher self so you’re able to hear the positive urges over the harmful ones. When working with this flower it’s important to think about the positive habit that will fill the void left by the harmful one.
 Gentian is another great flower for making positive changes. It’s ideal for people who lose momentum quickly because on some level they expect a negative outcome. This is for the dieters who are off the plan after a week because they don’t believe they’ll ever look in the mirror and see someone thin, so there’s no point in trying.
Chestnut Bud is a favorite among clients who are trying to make resolutions to change. This flower is for those who  know what needs to be done, but procrastinate actually making the changes. They evade what’s unpleasant, even when they know the greater good. They are the smokers who have one more “last cigarette” at 2am on January 1st, then decide to wait and quit tomorrow…or next New Year. These people make the same mistakes repeatedly because they fail to view the depth of a situation.
To use an individual flower I recommend taking 2 drops orally about 4 times daily (more often is ok too). The drops can also be placed in a water bottle and sipped throughout the day.
These recommendations should be helpful for anyone in these circumstances because they are very basic suggestions for common imbalances. These flowers likely won’t answer the root question, “How did you start a habit that you’d eventually be resolving to stop?”
Each of us has a remarkably complex emotional makeup that governs who we are, and why we do what we do. But, as with the physical, the emotions have several basic elements that need to be monitored and kept in balance to keep the more complex workings under the surface running smoothly.
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