In part one, we became acquainted with the changes we’ve attempted to make in the past that just didn’t last. Today, let’s focus on the reasons why.

Most of us think that by targeting the behaviors we want to change in our lives we are actually aiming at the root of our issue. But is that true? Is there something in us influencing our behaviors? Could our thinking be suspect?

You tell me. Have you ever seen an alcoholic get sober only to return to the behaviors that made him miserable enough to try quitting in the first place? Have you ever watched as a person lost 100 lbs. or more only to regain the weight a year or two later? Have you ever been so convinced that you needed to change a destructive or negative pattern of behavior in your life and tried everything in your power to alter your direction only to see yourself back in the same place once again even after you had some success?

Why didn’t these changes stick? 

King Solomon said, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” It’s not as a man behaves or acts that is the real root issue. No, those things are just the fruit of the root. The real root issues are in our thinking patterns.

We can change our behaviors and take actions to exhibit our new directions on a daily basis, even for long periods of time, but if we never eradicate the thinking that got us there in the first place we will inevitably return to our destructive patterns.

Our thinking patterns produce our emotions – and our emotions produce our decisions. Our decisions produce our actions – and our actions over time become our habits. You see, the real roots of any problem are never the behaviors that are being displayed. They, instead, are the thoughts that fueled our process of action in the first place.

Change your thoughts, if you want to change your life.

Come back for part 3 when we will discuss how to reprogram ourselves for success!

Growth Questions:
While making the decision to change a destructive or negative pattern in your life is the first step, the second step must be to understand what you’ve been thinking that has caused this pattern to emerge. When you begin to change your actions based on your decision to change your life, your pattern will be interrupted momentarily, but it will return.

What thoughts flood your mind regularly when you begin to alter your behaviors? When this thinking pattern returns, what’s happening? What circumstances are in-place? Is there stress involved? What are the triggers that cause these thoughts to become strongest?