Episode 125 - Making Positive Habits Stick, The Buddhist Way

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Buddha taught that small, good karmic actions lead to great results in the future, a powerful motivation for making even small positive changes in our lives. In this episode we look at the Four Powers of Effort, a process for making positive changes last. 1,200 years ago, the Buddhist Master Shantideva offered this Buddhist approach to lasting change and building confidence in his</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The Four Powers of Effort are guiding principles to reaching a goal by aspiring to who you want to become, creating a joyful process for change, and steadfastly sticking to it. The Buddha said that “with effort we have all attainments,” meaning we can do anything we aspire to with enough effort—even attain enlightenment! </span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The Four Powers of Effort</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>Aspiration</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. A strong wish is fundamental for accomplishing an important goal. How can we best create a strong wish and harness the power of it fir change?  By visualizing the future self. We decide who we want to become and visualize it, preferably in the quiet of meditation. We imagine what this new identity feels like, what they do each day, and the positive effects they have on others and our selves. For example, if we aspire to meditate every day, we imagine becoming a meditator, the newfound peace, and less anxiety. Or you might imagine becoming a fit and healthy person, and you visualize a future self that exercises most days of the week, feels light in your body, enjoys active pleasures like biking with friends or hiking. </span></li> </ol> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A shift in identity will follow changing our habits, but choosing who we want to become helps us understand what processes we need to adopt in order to become that person. (Emptiness of the self at work here!). The most powerful wishes come wh