So… I was on Facebook the other day and came across this:

TRANSLATION: It’s easier not to try.

We’re usually pretty quick to come up with reasons why we can’t do something. It’s easier to say we can’t than to actually make an attempt. This really got me thinking. It gave me a different perspective. What you continually tell yourself becomes so ingrained in your mind that you begin to truly believe it. To change your old habits, you have to change your mindset first.

For two and a half years now I have not had a single pop. For all you folks that aren’t from the Midwest, pop = soda or Coke;-) Same thing, different vernacular. After living in the south for five and a half years, I still get strange looks when I say pop. Really? Southerners can call every flavor of pop a Coke, but once they hear that three letter word, “pop,” slip from my mouth they’re all over me. Coke is a BRAND, people! A Sprite is NOT the same thing as a Coke! Ah… I digress… But, do we all have that straightened out now? Good. 😉

Back to being pop-free for two and half years. True story. I used to have pop all the time in college. It was a part of my daily life for the most part, often having multiple throughout the day. It was just part of “who I was.” However, when I took up running – consistently that is – I went cold turkey on the pop. I noticed it had grown more difficult for me to breathe during my workout if I had drank a pop earlier in the day. So, I decided it wasn’t worth it anymore and stopped drinking pop (mostly as an experiment at first, but it stuck). The important thing, though, was I first changed my mentality about that piece of who I was. I began to tell myself and others, “I don’t drink pop.” Instead of believing I was a habitual pop-drinker, I began to believe that I was a non-pop drinker. After changing my mentality, I realized how easy it was for me to give up my pop-drinking habit. Just like that, I was done and haven’t gone back.

If you have a habit you are trying to kick, I suggest you start by changing your mindset about yourself and your habit. Begin to convince yourself you no longer own that habit. How? It’s simple. Start by telling yourself repeatedly (ie: “I don’t drink pop”). Stamp it on your brain. Eventually, you will believe it.

Now, are you going to make an attempt to change or are you just going to say you can’t?