Breaking Out of Your Personal Trance


by Rachel Weinstein


What would it take for you to get out of bed when you’re depressed and just want to sleep the


day away? How can you get yourself to go to the gym instead of sitting back down on the couch to watch the 5th episode of Master of None? Is there something you can do so that the next time your spouse is asking you a question at the same time that your kids are clamoring for snacks, you don’t snap at one of them? How many things do you want to be different in


your life? How many habits do you want to form or break? Chances are, there are quite a few. I’d like to meditate more regularly, be more


patient with my family, start meal planning in- stead of throwing together things that I find in the


10 Essential Living Maine


fridge, keep my car clean and my bags and papers more organized, and much more… But, by definition, habits are hard to break. So


much of our behavior is motivated by our subcon- scious. Our minds integrate the firing patterns of habits and we do so much in our days with our presence at half-mast. Maybe we’re driving but we’re also worrying about finances. Perhaps we’re putting our kids to bed but we’re also figuring out what we want to eat for a snack. Our minds evolved to function on autopilot and


multi-task. However, when we’re stuck in painful patterns (depression, relational conflict, etc.) we need to be able to make conscious, willful deci- sions based on how we want things to change.


July/August 2016


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