{"id":5728,"date":"2014-01-09T05:45:37","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T10:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=5728"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:38:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:38:54","slug":"reblog-from-zen-habits-the-child-that-holds-us-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/reblog-from-zen-habits-the-child-that-holds-us-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Reblog from Zen Habits: The Child That Holds Us Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re a little more than a week in — have you already abandoned your optimistic New Year’s resolutions?<\/em>
\nOne of my favorite blogs,\u00a0 Zen Habits<\/a>,\u00a0 recently had a post that spoke to the reasons we struggle to make change, even changes we might really want or need.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Child That Holds Us Back<\/a><\/h2>\n

By Leo Babauta<\/p>\n

\nIt took me a long time to figure out why I, and so many others, have difficulties changing habits and making lasting changes in our lives.
\nIt all comes down to a little child. And that child lives within each of us.
\nI had a hard time quitting smoking in 2005, because I really didn\u2019t like the extreme discomfort of enduring the powerful urges to smoke. It was hard, and I kept trying to rationalize giving up. I kept wanting to give in to the urges, and make life easy again. At my weakest moments, I wanted to give up.
\nAnd I had given up, the seven previous times I tried to quit smoking and failed. I gave in to the urges, to the rationalizations, to the voice that said, \u201cGo ahead and smoke \u2014 why are you making life so miserable for yourself? Life is too short.\u201d
\nThis is the voice that stops us from making lasting changes.
\nThis is the voice that says it\u2019s OK to have those pastries, those French fries, that fried chicken. Life should be pleasurable!
\nThis is the same voice that says it\u2019s OK to skip out on exercise, because exercise is uncomfortable and not fun and you\u2019d rather be on Facebook or playing video games or watching TV. Life is too short for misery!
\nThis is the same voice that causes you to procrastinate when you\u2019re facing a difficult task. It causes you to skip meditation, or skip learning a language, or skip writing your book, because you\u2019d rather be doing something easier.
\nThis is the voice that keeps you from starting your own business, or pursuing the job you always wanted, because you\u2019re afraid of failure.
\nIt\u2019s the voice that gives up when things are hard, and convinces you to give up too. It keeps you from meeting the love of your life, because you don\u2019t want to go through the uncomfortableness of meeting new people. It keeps you from keeping the love of your life, because being honest with them is scary. It keeps you from learning to be alone with yourself, because that\u2019s scary and lonely.
\nThis voice isn\u2019t you. It\u2019s a little child inside you. It\u2019s the younger version of you, perhaps when you were 5 or 6.
\nThis little child, this younger you, doesn\u2019t like things that are uncomfortable or scary or difficult. What 5-year-old does?
\nThis little child likes things that are comfortable and safe and pleasurable.
\nThis is the child that you were when you learned all your thinking habits, when you tried things and quit because they were hard. Who could blame a 5-year-old for being like that?
\nBut you\u2019re not 5 years old anymore. And yet your life is run by this 5-year-old. Mine was for many years, and sometimes still is when I\u2019m not aware of what\u2019s going on.
\nThe trick is to notice that this 5-year-old child is telling you what to do. But don\u2019t listen. Don\u2019t obey. Don\u2019t believe its rationalizations.
\nYou can endure difficulty. You can learn to be OK with discomfort. You can face the fear.
\nFrom Leo:\u00a0This entire blog, and all my ebooks, are uncopyrighted (since\u00a0January 2008<\/a>).\u00a0That means I\u2019ve put them in the public domain, and released my copyright on all these works.<\/em>
\nSome other Zen Habits posts I’ve loved enough to share:<\/strong><\/p>\n