Meet Your Habit Self

@The.Holistic.Psychologist

Don’t worry if you don’t yet feel connected to, or “know”, your authentic self. Few of us
know our authentic self because we live within conditioned thoughts, feelings, beliefs
and behaviors that do not reflect our true, authentic self. First step to return “home” to
our authentic self (our true nature) is to begin to observe/explore the ways we
continue to show up in the world as our habit self.

Behavioral Habits
Humans are incredibly habitual creatures. Spend a few days (or even a week or so) observing
your daily habits. Use the prompts below to begin to explore and identify this aspect of your habit
self.
Some of you may find it helpful to set a reminder (i.e., an alarm on your phone) to help you to
consciously observe your patterns throughout the day. It's very helpful to use a journal to record
these patterns. Chances are you will see the same daily habits repeated throughout your week.
Upon Waking
Observe and note the first thing you do upon waking. Note your first thought and feeling (if you can
identify them). This may take practice:
Morning Routine
Observe and note the typical steps you take to get yourself “ready” for a day. (These may include
washing, eating, dressing, and any other activities you would consider part of your transition from
sleeping to your day):

Eating Routine
Observe and note the typical steps you take to obtain and consume your meals:
How do you obtain what you’ll eat (i.e., cook at home, eat out, etc.)?
Where do you eat (i.e., do you always sit at a table, eat while commuting)?
Do you have a particular approach to the actual act of eating (i.e, do you always save one
bite, do you eat everything on your plate, etc.)?

Leisure Time Routine

Observe and note how you spend time when you are not filling responsibilities such as work,
home life, childcare, etc.:

Nighttime Routine
Observe and note the typical steps you take to wind down and get yourself ready for sleep at
night. (These could include a bath, reading, watching TV, etc.):
Belief Inventory
We carry conditioned/habitual beliefs passed on from our earliest environments (within our
families, communities, etc ). To identify what habitual beliefs you may have, first spend some time
thinking about (and possibly journaling) these questions. Spend a few days (or weeks) observing
whether your daily actions match these habitual beliefs.

Don't worry if you find they do not match; this just means your older beliefs no longer align with your
current adult self and they can be unlearned. This is a good thing!

Religion: What are your predominate views on religion? What does your connection (or non
connection) to a higher power mean for you?

Relationships: What is the purpose of relationships for you? What are your roles in relationships?

Gender: What comes to mind when you think about gender and what it means to you? What roles
do you take on due to your gender?

Feelings: What is your relationship to feelings in general? (i.e., Do you believe expressing them
makes you weak? Are there certain feelings you feel are OK/not OK to express?)

Money: What does money mean to you? What role does money play in your life?

Worldview: How do you experience the world overall? (i.e., Do you feel safe and able to trust the
happenings of the world around you? Do you feel powerless?)

Sex/Physical Expression: What comes to mind when you think about sex/physical expression?

Values: What matters most to you in your life?