Get It by The Root
Root Out Bad Habits & Bad Influences
I live on 2 acres of wooded land featuring a beautiful ¾ acre clearing. My problem is blackberries. I hate them, and they have taken root all around the perimeter of our clearing and have become eyesores. I can’t poison them, because it will affect the surrounding trees, so I have to dig them out.
What I have learned is that you can’t just cut back blackberries to kill them… you must dig out the root ball completely or they will come back. Blackberries are like a cancer to landscaping, choking and killing everything it grows into. To keep them from returning, you must get all of the root and continue to attack it for 3-5 years before it won’t come back.
As I was whacking, cutting, and digging out the blackberries (and cursing them under my breath), it occurred to me: this is a metaphor. These destructive and noxious blackberries are much like bad habits and the bad influences that come into our lives. They enter our lives and seem harmless at first, but left uncontrolled, they can take over. Like blackberries, bad habits can spread faster than expected and choke out healthy activity. An internet addiction of any type can trap you in a dopamine loop for hours and, in the end, you have lost focus, momentum, confidence, peace, and opportunity.
Our bad habits (and we know what they are) must be eradicated if we are to live to our fullest potential. It takes intention, time and focus. It requires understanding where the root of our behavior lies and going after it. Sometimes the root is a lack of self-esteem, and we are just trying to feel better. Other times, a bad habit gives us a way to avoid pain or discomfort. In most cases, a bad habit leads us to the dopamine we may lack. Whatever the root is, it must be addressed. You cannot permanently remove what you are not willing to uproot fully.
Once you fully remove the root, cause, and availability of the bad habit, it must be replaced with a positive activity that will serve and support you. Fallow ground will soon yield weeds (including blackberries)…the same applies to our lives. Here are a few examples of how we can replace bad habits.
- Replace doom scrolling with and an uplifting or educational audiobook
- Replace negativity toward yourself or others with gratitude and support
- Replace isolation with connection to others
- Replace junk food with healthier choices
- Replace shopping with investing
- Replace TV and mindless entertainment with exploration and personal development
Over time, our behavior compounds. Good habits compound into freedom; bad habits compound into captivity.
Tend the garden of your life and weed out the weeds and bad habits while they are still small and undeveloped. However, no matter how overrun life feels, unhealthy patterns can be uprooted and healthy growth can return. It just requires you to be an intentional caretaker of your mind and your life.
Rick Wickizer is a trained and ICF credentialed business coach and a successful entrepreneur. Rick has served the building industry for over 30 years and is dedicated to adding value to all he works with. For information about coaching services provided by Rick, go to: rickwickizer.com
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