Abhinivesha: The Secret to Leaving Old Habits

Abhinivesha: The Secret to Leaving Old Habits

Have you ever sworn yourself off of donuts, successfully driven by a donut shop, only to find yourself with a sticky, jelly donut in your hand 5 minutes later. Here the term donut refers to any life habit you had consciously decided to avoid but couldn’t.

The Sanskrit word abhnivesha is the tendency to revert back to old habits & poor living patterns. As a human being you know this is not good, yet you pursue it anyway.

Actually this phenomenon of abhinivesha affects us all – to some or more degree. But there is a clear-cut way to race ahead of these bad habits, and be rid from them forever.

I was going to call this post, “Abhinivesha: Hard to Leave Old Habits”, but thought why should I emphasize the difficulty when it is very attainable by all – if you know the secret.

The yogis are highly intrigued with the functioning and development of mind. Overcoming old living patterns is all about the transformation of mind. So this topic is an integral aspect of yoga.

Mostly people revert back to old habits like smoking, drinking, unhealthy snacking etc, because that is something they are familiar with and the environment they are in supports that poor practice.

For instance, let’s say you have the habit to stop at Dave’s Greasy Drive Thru every afternoon at 4pm. You know the food is not good and adversely affects your cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, and overall health. You do not want to go, yet you stop anyway. It becomes a cycle that you seem not to be able to break.

The solution lies here: channelization & preparation. From the moment one decides that going to Dave’s Greasy Drive Thru is not good, one must make proper plans to support a better life habit. That means packing a healthy lunch that day and having plenty of available good snacks (dried fruit and nuts; fresh fruit; carrots, celery and bean dip; or any other unprocessed food) with you – within arm’s reach – at 4pm. And think that, “The moment I get hungry then this is what I will eat.” That mental idea can be supported by taking a different route that does not go past Dave’s.

At first this may seem difficult; but in truth it is quite easy. The human mind is incredibly flexible and dynamic. It will naturally adjust to your new habit. It just needs preparation and a tad bit of determination. Then you will certainly get success.

Remember: The time to quit going to Dave’s Greasy Drive Thru is not at 3:59pm when you have no food with you. That’s like being on a sinking ship.

Rather one must be armed and ready – psychically and physically – to instill that new habit ahead of time. Then when the moment arrives, victory will be yours. Practicing this for a few days will build your new habit and in due course – with consistency – that habit will become your nature. That means, the thought of Dave’s Greasy Drive Thru will be long gone from your mental plate, and you will be totally focused and happy on your new path.

Victory to you and let us know how it goes!!