I have a lot of bad habits, and there are a lot of better habits I’d like to form – but tend not to, because I am a lazy little sod and it’s easier to stay in the familiar rut than put in the hard work to improve myself and my life. I’m getting better at it, though. Vastly better, and the secret is… that there isn’t one. The thing is, as trite as it sounds, AA has one major point: you can’t fix anything until you admit the problem.
Temptation is hard to resist, and I’m particularly good at rationalising caving into it. But if I take a microsecond to point out to myself that I am rationalising, I am just finding excuses to do something I know that, long-term, I don’t actually want to do, that’s a big help. Step away from the rationalising Id and let it ramble on, but don’t actually act on what it’s saying. Just breathe, and in a little while, the Id will get bored (it has the attention span of a two-year-old) and move onto the next impulse – and you won’t have given in.
If the Id doesn’t move on, try arguing with it – rationally – because measured logic will often defeat a toddler’s argument.
Our minds are powerful, persuasive and multi-layered. If we can harness that power, we can change absolutely anything we want. And that’s a staggering thought.
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