Change by Experience

Written by Eugene Morgan

It is hard to break a habit.  You might be someone who wants to stop smoking but can’t.  The Merriam Webster Dictionary suggests that a habit means “a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition.”  That means, for example, to become a smoker one must acquire the behavior patterns of a smoker.

Acquiring any behavior pattern is difficult at first even learning a bad habit like smoking.  If you ask a smoker what was his first smoking experience; he would probably smile and say that learning how to inhale the smoke without coughing and choking.  Although coughing and choking wasn’t enough to keep him from trying it again.  Eventually smoking develops into a habit.  It becomes automatic.  The smoker doesn’t have to think about how to smoke anymore.  He just smokes.

But after being a smoker most of his adult life, he decides he wants to stop smoking for some reason or another.  He begins to find that it is not an easy habit to break.  It is difficult to break a life long habit of smoking just, as it is difficult to acquire the behavior patterns of a smoker.  No matter how you slice it is still going to be difficult at first.

So how is this related to what the title says on this post?  “Change by Experience.” According to Dr. Milton Erickson, we have a vast store memories and experiences.  He believed that if we tap into those resources (memories and experiences) we could facilitate change.

For example, the smoker has memories about how he became a smoker and how difficult it must have been when he started smoking.  If he allows himself to experience those memories, this will help him reevaluate his beliefs and assumptions about smoking.  In doing this, will provide him with the basic information necessary for change to occur.