Emotions Can Be Habits Too
Updated: Apr 21, 2021
When most of us think of habits, we think of things like flossing our teeth, drinking our morning cup of coffee, our daily meditation practice or reading just before we turn out the lights for the night. Such habits are generally focused on the time of day as "the trigger," and at the designated time, we perform the ingrained habit.
Emotions, behavior towards others, and ways of thinking can also be habits, and some of those habits serve us very well, while others can work against our desired outcomes and intentions. Those habits tend to be triggered by certain situations and events where we have conditioned ourselves to respond or act in a very predictable manner... For example:
Judgment of others is a habit
Responding when angry is a habit
Being kind to others is a habit
Not listening is a habit
Interrupting others is a habit
Giving generously is a habit
To gain awareness of these habits we should give some reflective thought to the types of behaviors we display or the types of thoughts that run through our mind when interacting with others: Team members, family, friends, and strangers.
Seek to identify two or three “emotion” or “thought” habits you’d like to change. Get clear on WHY you’d like to change those habits and how changing them can serve you better as a leader, friend, family member, or human being.
Commit to working on changing at least one of those habits THIS WEEK.
Best,
Andy Robinson, Executive Coach
239-285-5575
Andy@AndyRobinson.Coach
"Helping CEO's and executives maximize their influence and impact."