The Little Book of Big Change

Bad Habits Indicate Mental Wellness

Contrary to popular belief, bad habits and addictive behaviors are not symptoms of illnesses. People engage in bad habits when they seek to alleviate pain and return to their natural state of mental well-being. Thus, addictions and habits actually indicate how mentally healthy you are. Most people are fundamentally healthy and calm on a deep, spiritual level, but their negative thoughts cause them to believe otherwise.

You suffer when you give in to urges and addictions, but you are still making the best choices you know how to make for yourself. Gaining insight into these urges will help you make healthier choices in a way that feels effortless and natural. People often give their negative urges too much power. They regard their habits as a reflection of who they are as human beings. But, habits are not a part of your identity. They are responses to misguided thoughts that pass through your mind. Your habit “may dominate your thoughts, emotions and behaviors, but your habit says nothing at all about your basic nature – that part of you that is always there and always true, underneath your surface thoughts, emotions and behaviors...