Breaking bad habits habits: a much studied & much debated topic. I have written about habit-breaking before– especially since many habits literally define your life!- but I wanted to bring you more. No matter what you believe about breaking habits one thing is certain— you are on a personal journey and you need support! Here is some feng shui & collected tips and tricks to prop you up and keep you strong as you drop that bad habit!
Dan Flavin- the "light up dark corners" master!
Shine some light in your dark corners at home. Preferably lights that face upwards. Dark corners of your home are dead energy centers, just like dark corners of your mind collect bad habits and use them to escape into… When you amp up the wattage in these dark areas, you shed some light of what was hidden. Usually what is beneath the darkness is more free space to think, move and live!
Keep a journal as you shed a habit of two. When you are trying to change your eating, drinking or major living habits a journal is a killer tool to give you a place to “escape” rather than into the addictive escapist behavior you are shedding! Make sure you acknowledge how well you are doing with your habit-kicking in that journal; acknowledging victories is the way to build real solid gains.
Remove habit triggers from your home. If you are trying to quit smoking, for example, have your favorite coffee in the kitchen does not do much to help kick the habit. Keeping a bowl of candy out for guests when you are quitting sugar can set off the “just-can’t-fight-it” binge.
Make the center of every room- and the center of your floorplan- totally clean and orderly. This is the health area of the bagua (more on the bagua here), and it needs to be stable, solid and pristine. Every bad habit affects your health because it is an excess of one substance or energy in your life; keeping the center of your home clear will reinforce the health of the home overall.
Noble & Webster... even people can be a poison in and of themselves!
Declutter your address book! While I don’t advocate dropping friends at random, you might need to create distance- or totally break away from- negative influences in your life if you are making big changes. I’ve been told its no fun to watch people drinking when you are getting sober. Its definitely not helpful to hang out with dramatic complainers if you are cleaning the negativity out of your life. Perhaps you need to “break up” with a few friends or acquaintances, or create some distance, if they are not supportive in their ACTIONS. (yep, actions, not words. its easy to say kind things, but what people actually DO says it all!)
Get HELP if you need it. There is a support group for just about every single problem you might face in life if you need immediate support. Therapists, nutritionists, life coaches, physical trainers, chefs & yes, even feng shui consultants (!) can pitch in to provide specialized support to get you over the bumps in the road. Good friends are also invaluable. Even though breaking habits is highly personal and private, there are people who can give you perspective you may have missed that makes all the difference!
And…Be so proud of yourself : most people let their habits run them. You are deciding to take the power back to where it belongs! xoxo Dana
Hi Dana! I have a white glass-top square wooden coffee table in the center of the house, with a drawer to place things that will be visible, any tips what those items/colors/materials should be? Right now I have it totally empty, trying to figure it out! Thank you!