Here is an interesting Ted Talk by Judson Brewer. He talks about breaking bad habits by using mindfulness. He advocates a process of:
- noticing the urge (to smoke or eat sweets, for example),
- get curiously aware and notice what is happening in your mind and body,
- feel the joy of letting go,
- and repeat.
I find it interesting that he starts this talk by speaking of meditation and he implies that the process above is very similar to the process in meditation of:
- notice your breathing,
- get curiously aware and notice what is happening in this present moment,
- if your mind wanders off bring it back to your breath,
- and repeat.
I would also like to add that for those who are spiritually and prayerfully inclined, adding a prayer of forgiveness or release before repeating has been very helpful for many people.
Here’s the video. It’s a little less than 10 minutes long.