Dream Chasers

Unshakable WILLPOWER: Conquering Habits to Unlock Success

• Eric Heidrich

Share episode

Send us a text

Ready to FINALLY defeat those bad habits that are holding you back? 

Today, we're going to knock those habits out of the park and navigate the art of SELF-CONTROL. We'll discuss simple, yet powerful steps that will help you regain control so you can head towards a more productive and successful life.

Our journey doesn't stop there; we are going to build a fortress of WILLPOWER and resilience. With HONESTY and self-awareness, we'll tackle temptations head-on and learn to say 'NO' when it matters the most. 

Finally, we'll replace those bad habits with rewarding ones, ones that will lead you CLOSER to your goals. So, buckle up, and let's take actionable steps towards positive change. 

*Remember, have faith and don't forget - a blessing awaits just around the corner.

CONTACT US:

We'd love to hear from you! You can reach out to us by sending an email or a message on Facebook.

Email: eric@heidrichteam.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EricKateDreamChasers

Speaker 1:

This is the Dream Chaser Show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. My name is Eric and today I'm going to be talking to you about rushing bad habits. Now I'm going to be upfront and honest with you. This doesn't sound extremely sexy, right? Not a lot of people want to talk about their bad habits. In fact, if you do any self-development or research, self-improvement, a lot of times you'll find the things what to do to get there and how to make more money and how to do this and how to grind and hustle and blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 1:

Today's society is all about action, action, action, action, action. Never stop, never stop, don't quit. And look, I'm all for hard work. I think you need hard work. We have to find something that really fulfills us. That's important. But just as important as that is taking some rest and looking inside of ourselves. Because guess what you could be doing? All of these crazy awesome action steps waking up super early, working out, doing overtime at work and all of this stuff but if you're not taking inventory on the actions and habits that you have behind closed doors, the ones that you have at your home, the ones that you have in your head, that stuff can absolutely destroy any chance it can destroy all the progress you've made in the other positive areas of your life. So what I want to do today is go intrinsically and look at the bad habits thing, the things that are hurting us, because we all have bad habits, all right. So I promise you this will be worth your time. Stick in there with me and I'm going to give you guys, action steps, real things that you can use today to start destroying those bad habits and creating better ones so you can achieve success and prosperity, because I believe that's possible for everybody. All right, what we want to do is learn how to control our minds when these certain urges come up that compel you to do something or repeat that behavior that you're trying to quit. All right, so you might even have something in your head right now where you're like man, I've been trying to quit this for a long time, and I'm going to show you how to do that. Okay. So we want to control our mind. We want to figure out those urges.

Speaker 1:

The following process I'm going to talk about even helps overcome addictions, compulsive behavior. It helped me overcome OCD that I've had since I was a child and other addictive habits that I've been trying to quit. For years, procrastinating was a big one for me. You know that doesn't sound like a bad habit. It sounds like a lack of doing something, but that is a habit. Procrastination destroys our chances for achieving something that we want to. I would waste time scrolling Facebook this was recently too Waste time scrolling Facebook, video games, watching TV, instead of doing the things that I knew I needed to do or wanted to do. Procrastinating was huge for me and that was a bad habit.

Speaker 1:

And just as a side note, guys, keep in mind, if you have some deeper, darker habits or addictions like those deep, dark ones that we don't tell anybody about which, by the way, most of us have had those at one time or another If you have these deeper, darker habits or addictions, it's going to take a little more effort to overcome it. Those things usually come over years and years and years and years of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. I think of it like this the first time a thought passes through your brain, it's kind of like a car when it passes over a patch of grass Right, a fresh patch of grass. Picture this with me Car goes over it and it. What does it do? The first time it'll just leave some marks. But as it drives repeatedly over that path, it starts to dig ruts and eventually those ruts become so deep that they actually steer the car and it can't even get out. Your thoughts and habits are just like that, which is why they call it getting stuck in a rut. You know it makes sense, and with those deeper ruts that we have those deeper, darker habits that we can't seem to get control of, it's gonna take a little bit longer to get out of them, but I assure you it is possible. You might even need some divine intervention, because we know through Christ anything's possible.

Speaker 1:

So, with all of that in mind, let's get moving. Let's start talking about these action steps that you can start today to destroy these bad habits and these things you've been trying to quit for years. I'm gonna help you do that, and I know firsthand that they work because I've used them in my own life. So the first step is start by taking a moment to think about your bad habits. You probably already know what they are, like I mentioned, but if you're having a little trouble figuring it out, think about it for a moment. What things in my life am I doing that I know are not helping me. In fact, they're destroying me. Maybe you've tried to quit them for years and you just need to let all extra help. And so during this step, it's gonna take an honest evaluation of yourself, your thoughts, your actions and those habits which we see that we're doing every day.

Speaker 1:

The reason that I say honest is because we tend to give ourselves passes. We tend to compare ourselves with other people and we give ourselves a pass because we're not as bad as that person. Right, we do that. We need to give ourselves no passes or no excuses for repeating these behaviors. Don't compare your actions to other people's. Just because you drink a little bit and your buddy drinks a lot, that's not helping you, right. Just because you only read it sexually explicit books but you're not watching porn like your husband, that's not a valid excuse. You're still doing it. So we need to stop giving ourselves passes to indulge in our desires and those addictive behaviors that we know are harmful to ourselves.

Speaker 1:

Now let's move on. So, once you've defined which actions are hurting you and the ones that you wanna quit, now it's time to find out when and where those trigger moments are. So, if certain moments like being bored with nothing to do and you're sitting around if that triggers it, if that triggers your habitual TV watching and you notice yourself, your brain telling your hand hey, just reach for that TV remote, let's just watch a couple episodes. That's procrastination. By the way, when we're bored, that's usually when these trigger moments show up, and so, once you recognize when those triggers are, you've gotta learn how to say no to your brain. That's one thing that really helped me.

Speaker 1:

A ton was I said we have to learn how to say no to ourselves. We gotta look inside and say, nope, not today, I'm not doing that today. And keep in mind, guys, each time we say no, it's gonna build willpower and we're gonna talk about willpower in a little bit but each and every time we say no, it's going to get easier and easier. Okay, the temptation is still there, but it gets easier to say no as you build that willpower and just take it day by day, one day at a time. Each time you say no is one small victory. Celebrate that victory and just say, hey, you know what? I'm not gonna do that for today. We're gonna see where tomorrow brings, but right now, in this moment, I'm saying no. And when you build that mentality, you bring that with you to tomorrow. And then tomorrow, when that thing pops up that says, hey, you should really do this, you're gonna say nope, not today, not today. I don't know what tomorrow brings, but I'm not doing it today. Okay, so learn to say no to yourself.

Speaker 1:

One that was really tough for me and you know this is a small one in terms of how deep and dark it is but going to the bathroom, I would bring my cell phone in there, and something that should take I don't know five minutes to do go to the bathroom, wash your hands and leave would take me a half hour because I would sit there and start scrolling Facebook, social media, wasting time, even checking my emails, telling myself I'm being productive when really I'm just wasting time. So I've been learning to say no to myself. Set the phone away from me. In fact, I do that when we sit down to eat with my family. I say no, I'm not gonna be taking my phone with me, and I set it far away, and that's improved our relationship, our family life. It's just been so helpful.

Speaker 1:

The next thing is we need to replace those poor habits with better ones, for everyone. This is gonna be a little bit different. But these better habits you'll decide on by choosing what it is that you actually want to accomplish. So sit down in a silent area, go on a walk without your phone and think about what it is that you wanna accomplish. Could be short term, could be long term, might be a few years from now. Maybe it's something big you wanna invent something, or start a business, or pay off your mortgage. Those are big ones. It might take some time, but maybe it's something smaller but still important, like getting in shape, learning something new, taking up a hobby. You know, those things are relatively attainable in a shorter amount of time, and so once you've established what it is that you wanna do now you need to figure out the action steps on how to get there. Okay, for instance, if your goal is to lose weight, you can do a simple internet search on how to do this.

Speaker 1:

And I say simple, guys, because keep it simple. Keep it simple. Oftentimes we use complexity as an excuse for not taking action, and don't let that be you Right. We design this huge, complex plan and here's all the things that I need to do, and here's all the stuff, the steps that it's gonna take to get there, and this big, massive, complex plan all of a sudden gets too big. It's like a mountain over us and we don't know where to start. So just keep it simple.

Speaker 1:

Establish small steps. Right. If you're trying to lose weight, find small ways to eat healthier and exercise three times a week it's better than zero. And when you're tempted to eat junk food or sit on the couch, what do we do? We say no to ourselves. We get up, we get moving, take action, go work out or cook some healthy meals for the week. You know, that's just one example. But establish action steps that are gonna get you there.

Speaker 1:

Now, I know, at the beginning of this show I said today's culture is grind, grind, hustle, hustle, hustle. And we do need to take time to reflect inside of ourselves. But this is important too. Don't sit around taking too much time to decide, because what do they say? Idle hands are the devil's workshop, right? Like I said earlier, being bored is usually where these trigger moments come. When we're by ourselves and nothing to do, that's when the trigger moments typically creep in. Idol hands are the devil's workshop. So, get up, get moving. Okay, small action leads to more action.

Speaker 1:

Remember the car in the grass. What you're trying to do is drive a new path until it becomes your new rut. You have to continue to drive over that path. If you drive over it once, if you start this new habit and this new, you try to improve yourself and you only do it one time, maybe twice, it's not going to sink in. You need to create a new rut and let that old rut grow in. Let that old rut grow grass over it.

Speaker 1:

All right, by the way, guys, practicing saying no to yourself leads to the final and best part of this whole principle. It's this thing called willpower. It's something that we don't hear a lot about in self-development world. The word willpower is obviously made by combining the words will with the word power, willpower. Both are crucial qualities that you need to possess to succeed at your endeavors. You need to strengthen and build your will so that you'll have the mental fortitude to continue going when things get tough. Because, trust me, things will get tough, especially if you have a large goal that you're trying to attain, even if it's smaller, a smaller one, sticking with the losing weight, things are going to get tough. There's going to be times where you're going to be tempted not to exercise or to eat some junk food that you're not trying to eat. It's going to happen.

Speaker 1:

The key to this is building the willpower to say no. Building that willpower, you might meet with defeat at some point, especially if your goal is huge. The bigger the aim, the bigger the opposition. Once your will becomes powerful, you become this sort of like superhuman and I know that sounds kind of crazy, but you do. You become capable of handling almost any situation or any difficulty that arises without succumbing to the urge of giving up and quitting. Let me say that again when you build your willpower, you become a sort of superhuman, capable of handling almost any situation or difficulty that arises without succumbing to the urge to give up and quit.

Speaker 1:

These are those people that we look at, that say everything they touch turns to gold. Everything they take on, they seem to just succeed and crush it and move to the next thing. They're doers, they're winners. Why can't I be like them? Well, I'm here to tell you you can be like them. You can. I believe in you. I know you can do it. You can do anything they set their mind to, but you've got to be able to build that willpower. You've got to be able to say no to yourself and you've got to be able to say yes to yourself on the actions that are going to get you there. So build your willpower. One last thing, and this is important to understand You're going to be tested and tempted. It's going to happen as we learn to build our willpower. This sort of strengthening our armor and our shield and our sword, this sort of strengthening it does not come without trials and tests. You'll get stronger and better. You don't build muscle without putting it under an enormous amount of stress. Right, we're going to get tempted and tested, but your willpower will continue to grow if you push back. Have faith that you can do anything that you set your mind to.

Speaker 1:

In this moment, where we're talking about being tested and tempted, it reminds me of in the Bible, that's James, chapter one, verse two through four. He says consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many things, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Now, I know I just said a lot of words here, but at the beginning he says consider it pure joy when you face trials. Who the heck does that, right? Who the heck? He says oh, this is great. I'm going through tough times in my finances. Oh, my marriage is struggling, and this is awesome. My marriage is struggling. Oh, I'm depressed. This is great. Oh, I have a drinking problem, this is all. No, here's the thing. We don't usually consider it joy when bad things happen to us, but in this verse he's telling us to consider it joy when you face trials and temptations and tests, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Testing you is going to produce that willpower. It's going to build that strength within you.

Speaker 1:

My prayer for everybody listening is that you're able to overcome and destroy the bad habits that you've been trying to overcome and destroy for so long. You can do it. I know you can Learn to say no to yourself and build that willpower up and start taking action on the thing that you want to do the most and have faith that you can do anything. If this message to help you, please share with a family or friend, and you know what? I would love to hear from you. It can get kind of lonely on this side of the microphone because I don't get feedback. It's not like social media where people can comment and send messages and things, but I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me on Facebook. You can find us at EricKateSpaceDreamChasers. If there's something you want to hear about, let me know. You guys take care. Have a great rest of your day and God bless you.