Why old habits come back when you’re stressed
This is something I keep thinking about.
We often try to change habits by adding more discipline. We try to push harder, we force the change, and we are stricter with ourselves.
But habits are mechanisms in our brain to help it save energy. Once something is wired, it runs on autopilot so we don’t have to think every time.
The tricky part is that when we’re stressed or overloaded, our system goes into conservation mode. And in that state, it will default even faster to the old pattern, not because we’re lazy, but because it’s familiar and costs less energy.
So the issue when we are trying to change, isn’t that we need more willpower. It's that our system doesn’t have enough capacity to try something different.
Before forcing a new behavior, it can help to ask:
What’s actually draining my bandwidth right now?
Sometimes removing a bit of pressure works better than adding more.
5
12 comments
Why old habits come back when you’re stressed
powered by
skool.com/inspired-life-empowered-being-7894
⭐Inspire.Empower.Live. Supportive skool where we are encouraged to increase our awareness, take action, and thrive through life's many challenges.💪💕
Suggested communities
Powered by