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How to Replace Bad Habits With Beneficial Habits

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

habits

Habits affect every aspect of our lives; from the moment we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed. We usually think of habits as our daily routines, so we don’t think much about them.

But our habits involve much more than our usual routines. How we think, perceive, and respond to the world become habits.

In this article, we’ll examine how our typical ways of responding can become habits without us even realizing it.

I’ll give you tips for recognizing non-productive habits, and strategies for replacing them with beneficial habits that will help you become more positive and productive.

7 Things You Need to Know About Habits

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

habits

There are many ways you can design a new road map. But before you do, you need to know what you are doing now.

What habits do you have in place that help you use your time effectively?
What habits are time wasters?

Once you become aware of your habits, you can put in place those that benefit you the most. Often it only takes some small habit changes to result in huge benefits.

Today on my blog and podcast, I’ll show you 7 things to remember about habits.

Change Your Expectations and Change the Outcomes

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

bracelet with "believe" engraved on it

Several years ago, I met a bubbly and enthusiastic woman. As I got to know her, I was amazed at her life story. She was a goal setter, had a college degree, got married and expected her goals to become a reality.

She discovered, however, that the career she had chosen was not what she had hoped for. She was happy to be a stay-at-home mom, but when her second child died in the womb, she was devastated and was convinced it was her fault even when doctors assured her it wasn’t. She went from a healthy, vibrant individual to sinking into a troubling depression.

During this time, she found a bracelet lying on the sidewalk. She discovered words inscribed on the bracelet… words like imagine, believe, and create.

You Don’t Need a Degree to be Successful

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

I will

Did you know that some of today’s most famous entrepreneurs became successful without a college degree? People like Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg never completed college.

I am not suggesting that going to college isn’t important. But I also believe we should consider all the options available to us.

Today on my blog and podcast, I’ll show you a simple exercise to help you evaluate endeavors that didn’t succeed, and to clarify and prioritize the next steps you want to take.

5 Steps to Pick Up the Pieces and Construct a New Outcome

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Pick Up the Pieces and Construct a New Outcome

There are many stories of people who have experienced and survived one crisis after another. In each situation, their first concern was to survive.

Next it was, “Where do I go from here?”

Perhaps you can recall times in your own life when you asked yourself, “Now what do I do?”

Today on my blog and podcast, I’ll show you 5 steps that will help you begin the process of rebuilding.

No matter where you begin, you can make it. Refuse to let the magnitude of rebuilding take away your resilience and determination.

Breathing Exercise to Reduce Stress

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

We can’t think of options and alternatives when we’re under high levels of stress – in fact, we can’t think at all.

Only when some of that stress has been reduced can we put on our thinking cap, challenge our fears, and look for ways to go beyond survival.

Ruminating over your problems may be the only way you know how to cope with stress at first. You may continue to argue your point of view… “You just don’t understand. I followed instructions. I took classes to learn. All I hear from everyone, is why don’t you do this or that, as if I haven’t already tried that and more.”

What is Creating Your High Levels of Stress?

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

A student in my husband’s college class came to see him one day to tell him she would have to drop out of college. She was a great student, and he was afraid she would not return to school, limiting her chances in life.

He was always a trusted resource and support to his students, and he gently probed the reasons. He listened as she told her story, as shared in today’s post.

I also include information about how the fight/flight response affects us physically, and questions to ask yourself to help you identify what may be causing distress in your life.

What Does Survival Look Like?

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Personalized Stress: The Stress we Create | FocusWithMarlene.com

When the unexpected happens, we come face to face with the unknown.

We may have lost our job, or the marriage we thought would last a lifetime has just ended. Our spouse may have died unexpectedly, or we lost our best friend. It may be the death of a child or the shocking awareness that our teen is deeply involved in drugs or gangs. Or that our health is slowly deteriorating with aging.

There are a thousand ways our life can be turned inside out and upside down in the blink of an eye. At such times, we feel like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car: paralyzed, unable to move. Shock protects us for a short time, but when it wears off, the magnitude of our circumstances hits full force.

Where Do We Go From Here? Moving Beyond Survival

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

January — a time for new year’s resolutions. However, like all good intentions, they fall by the wayside. Until we think through and actually define what we want, our ambitions and aspirations will remain just dreams and desires.

What do I want and why is it important to me? What is needed to create a workable goal? What benefits will I get? Where do we go from here?

Discover how considering new approaches will expand your frame of reference so you can find new coping skills that will enable you to move beyond survival.

A New Year – A New Beginning (How to Reflect on What You Learned)

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

A New Year – A New Beginning

As we end this year and begin another, take some time to reflect on the instructive things you have learned or gained throughout the year.

We often remain focused on regretful things and fail to remember the good things we have achieved and the obstacles we have overcome. We minimize the good things, not considering them to be that important. But they are important, as they become learning tools to take with us into the new year.

Read on for some things to consider during your reflection.