Mountain Bike Overhaul
Competence: Good Habtis
Habit can’t be kept apart from the Atman or Soul. This is inseparable element of the Spirit. Habit is the vital part of being or self. Every one is a bundle of habits. You, me and everyone is a set of some habits be that good or bad or mixed. With great habits a soul becomes Mahatman (great soul) and with inferior habits a soul becomes Duratman (devil soul) and with mixed habits a soul is called human. It is habits which make onesuperior or inferior.
Enlightened soul always contain the habits which are bright or brilliant or enlightened, which always radiate the good vibes, coming under which aura, one feels a sense of greater energy, security, or peace or bliss.
You also would have meditated ever on habit, however, I would like to share some of my studies and experiences about habit, which has been one of the issues of the meditations, I conduct with my students.
Before talking about how to cultivate, develop and maintain a habit, we should have right understanding about it’s nature and behaviors. Habit is defined by a dictionary as a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition. Our Rishis call the habits as samskara or a nature of a thing or being. Every samskara or nature or habit is found in a being, is there for the gratification of one’s soul. Whatever habit gives us a pleasure we just grasp that and try to repeat again and again, and with the repeatition that becomes perpetuated, thus that becomes one’s nature. If I love meditation means that gives a pleasure to my soul, therefore, that has become my habit. On whatever day if I don’t meditate I feel a lackness of something. That habit has been there within my being since my many past lives. The root of some of habits is there in our beings since thousands or millions of past lives, some for last 100 past lives, some for last 5 past lives and some since childhood, or some since last 5 years or some since last 1 year. Older the habit greater the energy. Every habit good or bad is cultivated in the past consciously or unconsciously, which has become now one’s nature.
A westerner scientist deems that the habit is thus capable of cultivation. An act performed again and again, with persistent purpose, becomes at last an unconscious force that directs life and character. And with care and diligence we may develop good habits as well as bad ones, and surround ourselves with a garment of defense against the evil tendencies of life. Indeed the chief utility of a thorough, education consists in the power of habit which it engenders, to fortify a man against the tendencies to indolence and evil. One may learn to be cheerful, or he may learn to look upon the gloomy side of things. From the cultivation of such habit, a man may become an extreme optimist, or, like the pessimist, he may paint the sun and sky with the sombre hues of his own gloomy mind. In like manner a man may become careful or careless, thrifty or unthrifty, prompt or tardy, or pretty much what he will as the result of his acquired habits. This is his self-education and is given largely into his own hand to make or mar a life.
Scott Young, a Canadian journalist, sportswriter, novelist and the father of musician Neil Young, author of 45 books, including novels and non-fiction for adult and youth audiences, believs most of life is habitual. You do the same things you did yesterday, the day before and every day for the last month. It’s estimated that out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only consciously processes 40.
Habits, good or bad, make you who you are. The key is controlling them. If you know how to change your habits, then even a small effort can create big changes.
I’ve been using these techniques for years to re-engineer many aspects of my life. That includes overhauling my diet, exercising regularly, cutting out television, and bulking my e-mail and work routines. Little changes that, when put on autopilot, can result in an improved quality of life.
If you do any act for 30 days that begin to become your habit. Here are some tips to get you started:
You focus on one change for thirty days. After that time it has been sufficiently conditioned to become a habit. I’ve used this as the basis for most of my habit changes. It definitely works to sculpt the automatic programs that run in the background of your mind.
Use a Trigger – A trigger is a short ritual you perform before a habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier this might mean jumping out of bed as soon as you hear the sound of your alarm. If you wanted to stop smoking this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a cigarette. A trigger helps condition a new pattern more consistently.
Replace Lost Needs – If you opened up your computer and started removing hardware, what would happen. Chances are your computer wouldn’t work. Similarly, you can’t just pull out habits without replacing the needs they fulfill. Giving up television might mean you need to find a new way to relax, socialize or get information.
One Habit at a Time – A month may seem like a long time to focus on only one change, but I’ve found trying to change more than a few habits at a time to be reckless. With just one habit change you can focus on making it really stick. Multitasking between three or four often means none become habits.
Balance Feedback – The difference between long-term change and giving up on day 31 is the balance of feedback. If your change creates more pain in your life than joy, it is going to be hard to stick to. Don’t go to the gym if you hate it. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines that are fun to follow and support you.
“But” to Kill Bad Thoughts – A prominent habit-changing therapist once told me a great way to nuke bad thinking. Anytime you feel yourself thinking negatively about yourself, use the word “but” and point out positive aspects. “I’m lousy at this job – but – if I keep at it I can probably improve.”
Write it Down – Don’t leave commitments in your brain. Write them on paper. This does two things. First, it creates clarity by defining in specific terms what your change means. Second, it keeps you committed since it is easy to dismiss a thought, but harder to dismiss a promise printed in front of you.
30, 90, 365 – I’d like to say most habits go through a series of checkpoints in terms of conditioning. The first is at thirty days. Here it doesn’t require willpower to continue your change, but problems might offset it. At ninety days any change should be neutral where running the habit is no more difficult than not running it. At one year it is generally harder not to run the habit than to continue with it. Be patient and run habits through the three checkpoints to make them stick.
Get Leverage – Give a buddy a hundred bucks with the condition to return it to you only when you’ve completed thirty days without fail.
Keep it Simple – Your change should involve one or two rules, not a dozen. Exercising once per day for at least thirty minutes is easier to follow than exercising Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with yoga the first day and mountain biking the third day, except when it is raining in which case you will do… Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.
Consistency is Key – The point of a habit is that it doesn’t require thought. Variety may be the spice of life, but it doesn’t create habits. Make sure your habit is as consistent as possible and is repeated every day for thirty days. This will ensure a new habit is drilled in, instead of multiple habits loosely conditioned.
Experiment – You can’t know whether a different habit will work until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find ones that suit you. Don’t try to follow habits because you should, but because you’ve tested them and they work in your life.
Post Your Change on Facebook or elsewhere in the domain of your friends – Pick a change you want to work on and post it right there. You’ll get the benefits of writing it down and making a public commitment. The best time to start is right now. This is a very powerful way what I like most. Make a public commitment to everyone you know that you’re going to stick with it. Offer yourself a reward if you make it a month. Anything to give yourself that extra push.
One of world’s top leaders and educators Robin Sharma has given a four fold formulae:
1. Unconscious incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence
3. Conscious competence
4. Unconscious competence
Many bad or incompetent habits are unconscious, we notice them when we observe them carefully or when other persons point them out. Thus they become conscious, this is the second step of obliterating bad habits. Then comes seek and cultivate good habits, which is the third step conscious competence and when the competent habits become older that become your nature or the unconscious competence.
Vedas say there are 4 types of habits tamasic (gloomy), rajasic (mixed), sattvic (brilliant) and trigunateet (beyond all, transcendental state). The seers exhorts that one should ascend from tamas to rajas, from rajas to sattva and also from sattva to trigunateet (Transcendental State). In highest reality every habit be that bad or good ought to be transcended. Buddha says the habit which is the most characteristic mark of personality, originated in ignorance, discrimination, desire and deed; and its activities are perpetuated by perceiving, grasping and becoming attached to objects as if they were real. Since nothing is real, therefore nothing can give the pleasure which is forever, therefore, one has to go beyond all of habits bad and good, however, one should attempt to cultivate firstly good habits or sattvas and when that becomes unconscious you automatically transcend from sattvas to trigunateet avashta (Transcendental State).
Buddha shares the 4 fold techinques in Iddhipad saying there are four means by which Iddhi (perfection in mundane or ultramundane performances) is acquired:
1. Prevent bad habits/qualities from arising.
2. Put away bad qualities which have arisen.
3. Produce goodness that does not yet exist.
4. Increase goodness which already exists.
Buddha has suggested to workout on the 5 habits, as I’ve mentioned in my earlier post, to glorify the self. At another place, He has also shared the 5 habits to aquire all kinds of super natural powers, what I’ll share when will get chance.
About the Author
Yogi Anand is an Enlightened Master of India. www.yogianand.com
Shimano PD M520 pedal overhaul
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