There are very few certainties in life. But one thing you can be absolutely certain of- you will have challenges and problems, no matter what. And when those problems come, you’ll only have two choices in how you react: positively or negatively. Buddha understood this aspect of human nature and taught that there were 6 key areas for development in order to overcome these difficulties.
1) Replacing Bad Habits
If you’re trying to start a new habit, like an exercise routine or overcoming an addiction of any type, there can be times when you need to resist the urge to fall back on bad habits. And while this is very important, it’s really only part of the solution. Giving up a bad habit is very hard! That’s why Buddha recommends everyone replace a bad habit with a good one.
If you stop smoking, you could start painting. If you stop eating junk food, you could start eating healthy food. Or if you are going to stop hanging out in nightclubs and getting drunk, you could start going to yoga and drinking raw juice. It’s very important that you consciously look for a healthy, sustainable replacement to bad habits, because if you don’t you may end up with a worse habit in its place.
2) Stop Over Consuming
Consumption works both ways; you could be over consuming or under consuming. You could be eating too much or not enough. You could be not drinking enough water or be drinking too soda. You could be buying too much stuff that you don’t need or you could be depriving yourself from the things that you do need. This is why the concept of balance is so important! You have to know when to consume more or less of certain things in order to overcome life’s challenges. This goes hand in hand with self-knowledge; because when you learn more about your needs as a human being you get more of an understanding of how much you need and when you need it.
Excess is the greatest threat to happiness.
1) Replacing Bad Habits
If you’re trying to start a new habit, like an exercise routine or overcoming an addiction of any type, there can be times when you need to resist the urge to fall back on bad habits. And while this is very important, it’s really only part of the solution. Giving up a bad habit is very hard! That’s why Buddha recommends everyone replace a bad habit with a good one.
If you stop smoking, you could start painting. If you stop eating junk food, you could start eating healthy food. Or if you are going to stop hanging out in nightclubs and getting drunk, you could start going to yoga and drinking raw juice. It’s very important that you consciously look for a healthy, sustainable replacement to bad habits, because if you don’t you may end up with a worse habit in its place.
2) Stop Over Consuming
Consumption works both ways; you could be over consuming or under consuming. You could be eating too much or not enough. You could be not drinking enough water or be drinking too soda. You could be buying too much stuff that you don’t need or you could be depriving yourself from the things that you do need. This is why the concept of balance is so important! You have to know when to consume more or less of certain things in order to overcome life’s challenges. This goes hand in hand with self-knowledge; because when you learn more about your needs as a human being you get more of an understanding of how much you need and when you need it.
Excess is the greatest threat to happiness.
Source: blog.sivanaspirit.com
