We hear this term used when describing toddlers. When they wouldn’t share their toys with cousins. When they pushed a playmate because they took their toy.
Rarely do you hear this term used when describing an adult. Do we feel that we can work at changing someone’s behavior for the better only at an early age?
What do I mean by bad behavior? When our actions don’t match our words. When our actions don’t match our thinking. For example, we say that something is very important to us but then we don’t make time to do it. Or we say we believe with all our heart in the good of something and then act in ways that make others question whether we are sincere.
What is the result of this type of bad behavior? There is discouragement and a feeling that we are not in control of our lives. “No that’s not true. It’s because of something outside of our control that causes us to feel discouraged.” It took me a long time to realize that this was not true. Most times, we do it to ourselves.
Changing our behavior is just as important as changing our thoughts.
(Maybe even more so.)
How do we break the discouragement? Take small steps. Celebrate every “little” change. One day at a time. We focus so much on our thoughts of change that we forget to look into our behaviors.
To change means that as our thinking evolves
our behavior needs to change.
Each and every day.
Challenge yourself to see this type of inconsistency between your words and your actions. Think of weight loss. (I fight with my weight a lot!). What we do matters more than what we say.
Our inconsistent behavior slows us down. We lose faith in our own words, our dreams, and our hopes. Others lose trust in us. Our words mean less to them. Remember change is much more than a simple word. Correcting our own bad behavior is a big part of the journey.