What do you do when you’ve lost your fight and slip back into sloppy habits that make you miserable? You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the game. In this episode, I’m exploring habits, the cues and triggers that govern them, the benefits they provide, and how to replace “bad” habits with better ones. I’m discussing my long, weight loss saga, and the way I’m moving forward, as a woman in my late 50s, to rebuild my healthy eating and exercise habits. It’s a rational approach, made tolerable by the soothing sounds of my spoken word poetry. In this episode, I explore:

• What habits are and how they work
• The hows and whys of replacing a “bad” habit with a better one
• How habit stacking can help
• How to problem solve when unhealthy habits persist 
• How to plan for failure so you don’t lose your mind when you slip up
• My weight-loss (and weight-gain) story and how I’m moving my habits back into a healthy direction with the help of my trusted friend, music

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies.

Listener Survey: As I head into year 2 of the podcast, I'd love to get your insight and ideas for the show. Please take this short survey. Note: The survey is anonymous, and I will NOT share your data. Listener Survey

Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)

Poem: Stop Lying

Songs in this episode: On Loop by Nu Alkemi$t; Slide by GEMM; I Don’t See You Fighting by Sam Barsh; Hey Marie by Tony Sopiano; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters

Resources:
James Clear: How to Break a Bad Habit and Replace It With a Good One;  How to Build New Habits by Taking Advantage of Old Ones (Habit Stacking); How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick (Four Stages of a Habit)

Related Episodes:
 #12: Compare Less/Grateful More

Journal Prompts:
1) What bad habit do I want to change?  Why is this the habit to change?
2) Write about the four stages of your habit – what are the cue, craving, response and reward of your habit? See the show notes for the article entitled How to Start New Habits That Actually Stick to read more on these four stages.
3) Write about a new habit you want to replace the old habit with, noting the benefits it will give you and how it will address the need that your old habit fulfilled.

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

I’m wrapping up Season 3 and taking a break over the holidays, but I’ll be back on January 14th for Season 4 with a new series on some of the essential life lessons my sweet mom taught me. Until then, I’m wishing you all good things, and time and space to try new things. Maybe a new creative project, quality time with friends, or deep rest. Do what lights you up inside and fills you with a sense of purpose. You deserve those moments for yourself. See you on January 14th.