Attention! March for you in March

Hello, my dear friends. I have to tell you a strategy I came up with while trying to become the best me in all I can. And in all areas of my life, I possibly can. I had been a cigarette smoker for a while.

To be exact about 20 plus years, and last year I made a determination and a quality decision that these things are bad for my health so I quit. Cold turkey. After all, no matter what excuse I, or you, make for your bad habits, they are bad for us and they will eventually hurt us. I started reading all the medical facts and asked many doctors for the facts and all of it was very bad.

So, as I was telling you, I quit smoking. It was not easy but I did it. I held on to my horses and took a stand for myself and my loved ones and have succeeded and will continue to. It has been one year and three months to the day. But the most important thing is, that for a few months I have gone through stress and anxiety galore, and have not broken my word to myself and my march towards a better me. The feeling is great inside me.

I started thinking how I did this, and I can now, kind of, explain it to you so you can put it to work in your life too. Trust me it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a very skilled person because I am not one and did it. So you can too.

The experts at coaching you to stop bad habits will tell you that in order to stop a bad habit you have to replace it with a good one.

So I thought, hmm, everyone knows how to Ctrl, Alt, Delete right? We use it every day in our computing skills right?

Well, we need to Ctrl, Alt, and Del. In our lives.

So first you control your behavior. Take a deep down look at what is causing you to not be the best you can in any area of your life. For example, I had been smoking cigarettes, like I said not good for me at all so I control what it was doing in my life by observing my body's behavior with it.

I made a list in my journal as follows:

I need to quit this Cigarette smoking because it is harming me in with:

1- Breathing. When I sing, run, dance, climb hills.

I could really do better if I don't smoke.

2- Costs too much money to buy them. The money I can use to

buy things I really need around the house.

Groceries, Can opener that works, knife sharpener. Etc.

3- It makes me stink no matter how much perfume I put on. And my breath stinks too.

4- All my beautiful clothes stink and my hair too.

So you see I wrote an inventory of how bad this was and I can assure you the list is unending. I became very specific with the details. And just to see in writing it gives it real perspective.

So Do a Control log like I did. Write it down. All the pros and cons. Ask yourself What comfort are you getting from this habit? And why do you need that comfort?

Then after you Ctrl. you Alt.

The meaning of Alt in Wikipedia is the following:

The Alt key (pronounced /ˈɔːlt/ or /ˈʌlt/) on a computer keyboard is used to change (alternate) the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer will perform an Alt+A function, which varies from program to program. The international standard ISO/IEC 9995-2 calls it Alternate key.

Alt to me means to find a replacement. To do something good in its place. I chose to run more and sing more and then vaping. It was a very good alternative for me. I used the nicotine vape juice at first but now I am only with the vitamin vaping juices. I like them. There is when I started noticing how bad that smoking habit of mine, really was for me. So I went to my journal and wrote the negative and the good effects on my body because of my decision to quit smoking. Again write as much detail as possible. You have to have a journal, diary, notebook.

I never am without one. I recommend you have one too.

On mine, I wrote on February 21st, 2017.

"I went running at the beach and had no need to rest and by the way, I could hold a note while I was running. Yeehaw!!!! Never felt so good before. What a waste of time, Mariam, not quitting earlier."

Yes, I do write to myself using my name! I have to when it is for me. You have to do it too. Decide on something you will do once you feel triggered to go back to your old habit. Go back and read your journal. Make yourself remember. That is why you have to be specific with your writing.

Have positive alternative habits consistently, that will help rewire your brain to see them as your normal new habit over time.

It really works. It did for me and trust me I am the least of them all for anything to work.

I am doing this with the bad habit I acquired of having a drink of alcohol every day. Besides that, I get it bad when I have more than one drink. Plus, it is very bad what it does to you.

Get the facts and be honest with yourself about your bad habits.

This is number one if you are going to kick any of them. Be VERY honest with yourself.

I can see it in my weight and sleep patterns and the capacity of my mind to focus and my skin and complexion. I have been juicing and drinking teas and loving it.

The last one is the Delete key.

This one is obvious but in this one, I also put in with it that you have to remove temptations to go back to the same bad habit.

It takes the mind 29 days to form a habit. For Good or Bad. So, for at least 29 days, you have to be as far from the temptations as possible in order to delete it completely from your system. Avoid it like the plague. Seriously!

So guess what, you have to retreat to somewhere by yourself with yourself and focus on what and why you are going to break these bad habits that will eventually kill you faster and not so pretty. You must set aside time and pick one bad habit to focus on. Start using the steps to increase and maintain more positivity in your life moving forward. Write a journal and keep it with you. Try and write in it every day. Then go back and read it to help you on your journey to a better you for you and your loved ones.

I am doing it every day with many things I want out of my system. It is doable and the feeling is supreme. To know you can master yourself is the greatest act of self-discipline and self-esteem and self-respect you will ever find. Once you have that worked out for you, there is very little that can bring you down.

Start using this Ctrl, Alt, Delete method. What bad habits do you want to remove from your life once and for all? Go for it. Your future old self will really thank you!

This is Mariam wishing you a life of conquest over you.

For a better you. And a better world.

From My Ami Way to Yours.

Remember to Keep Love Above.