Tell yourself to stop reading this article now.

Seriously, don't read any further.

If you're still reading and you've read up to this line now, you have proven exactly why telling yourself to stop doing something never works.

Just for emphasis:

Don't think about what you had for dinner last night.

Out of all the possible things you can be thinking of, I can bet that you're thinking about what you had for dinner last night.

For some reason, your subconscious does not register your desire NOT to do something. Every time you tell yourself to stop thinking about or doing something, your mind will end up making it happen. Just think back to the time you told yourself not to mess up or not to be nervous.

Frustrating, I know.

So what can you do?

Be conscious of "negatively" stated desires and state your goal, desire or outcome in POSITIVES. It takes some getting use to but here are some examples to get you started.

I don't want to be nervous = I want to stay calm

I want to stop procrastinating = I want to be focused

I want to lose weight = I want to live a healthier lifestyle

When you catch yourself stating your goals or wants in a negative way, remember that you've read to the end of this article despite telling yourself to stop reading in the very first sentence.

It takes the same amount of energy to state an outcome in the negative or the positive, so use the one that works.

The post Why Telling Yourself to Stop Bad Habits Never Work appeared first on Embrace Possibility.