Raise Your Consciousness: The Best Habit Building Tip Ever?

October 13th 2008

Not too long ago I came across the concept of raising your consciousness. Any habit or behaviour is a subconscious action, which means you basically do it without thinking about it. That urge to reach for a cigarette, slouching in a chair or calling somebody by a particular name… that’s your subsconscious doing its work. If you had to think through every single thing you did humans probably wouldn’t be around today. Of course, the only problem with that is it can lead to your picking up bad habits.

I originally came across the idea of raising your consciousness in relation to feminists drawing attention to people using male themed languarge (such as policeman). Years ago it would have been a natual, subconscious thing because it was normal practise in society, but by constantly having it drawn attention to people started to become aware of what they were saying. If you poke a mindset enough times it will eventually come out from hiding in your subsconscious.

I’d noticed a funny occurance before whenever I worked on my habits. Initially I wouldn’t always get the results I wanted (and dare I say, my enthusiasm would wane or I’d give up on it). However, several months later it would suddenly occur to me that I’d made progress with the habit anyway. Just by thinking about it regularly the brain had readjusted itself. It’s with this in mind that I started experimenting with the idea of raising your consciousness.

Normally I’m not one for such methods. I like practical systems and tools and usually shy away from “wishy-washy” self-help. However this approach seems to work well for me (it’s made me reevaluate similar approaches) and I’ve started to develop it into a coherent practise. Below are the four key rules that I follow:

Use nothing but your head
This goes against everything I would normally suggest. Checklists of your targets, charts to track your progress and any other helpful tool should be avoided. Why? They stop you using your brain. To raise your consciousness you need to really think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. If you rely on a trigger on a piece of paper to remind you to correct yourself whenever you’re slouching or to choose an healthy option at the restaurant then it won’t work.
Have a different goal every week
I find seven days is an ideal timeframe. Remember, you’re not using any external tool to remember so if you have a longer timeframe your brain is liable to lose its focus. A short, intense period of thinking about your habit and catching yourself when you do it is much more effective. Any longer and your attention starts to slip.
Just do it, the results are irrelevent
It doesn’t matter whether you slip up and do what you’re trying to avoid doing (not smoke, for instance) You’ve not failed, you’re not going to lose marks, etc. The aim isn’t to hit some arbitary target, it’s instead to keep your head focused for a week and to catch yourself whenever you slip up.
Don’t repeat the goal too often
I often find that it’s helpful to revisit a goal. The point of raising your consciousness is to gain a balance in your life and by occasionally doing a goal again it helps to keep that balance. Imagine it as a ship and you need to adjust its course sometimes to keep it heading in the right direction. However, don’t repeat it too often (I personally avoid doing a goal more than once a month) as you need to keep the process fresh so your mind will stay focused when you do revisit it.

In a nutshell, ever week I take something I want to focus on (some I’ve done include speaking louder and more clearly, improving my posture and taking a break from the TV) and every time I catch myself slipping I will readjust (if I realize I’m speaking quietly to a customer I will increase my volume, for instance). In the case of the TV diet, if I do end up watching a show I will look at why I did it and what thought processes went through my head. The important thing is to be consciously aware of what you are doing rather than just letting the bad habit pass you by.