What is a Habit?

A Habit is a repeated behaviour...a repeated action.

Habits fall under the influence of the subconscious part of our minds. Habits are either fully under the influence of the subconscious mind or for the most part under the influence of the subconscious mind.

Yes - we weigh Habits with conscious thoughts. But, we do Habits because of subconscious influences.

As an example, breathing is a Habit. It happens under the influence of the subconscious mind. Yes - we can think about how we breathe and we can decide to hold our breath. To that extent, our conscious mind can influence breathing. However, the influence of the conscious mind is short-lived. After holding our breath for a period of time we either give up and breathe or we pass out. Either way, the subconscious mind has taken over and it causes us to breathe again.

With respect to Habits, the conscious mind is much weaker than the subconscious mind.

However, there is some good news: we have the ability to use conscious thought to impress change on the subconscious influences and, with skilled practice, over time, the conscious mind can exert its will on the subconscious mind and change Habits. For example, the current world record for holding one's breath under water is currently over 22 minutes! Over time, with practice, meditation can help the conscious mind exert control over the subconscious. For example, meditating gurus can slow their heart rates to extremely low levels.

Those are examples of ways to change Habits. They can be used to change Habits from Bad to Good...i.e., changing for the better.

The process for changing Habits is challenging - it is a battle that pits conscious will for long-term gain and doing the right things against near-term gratification.

For Spirited Leaders, Good Habits are actions that help us achieve our long-term goals [including living up to our personal values and standards of character] while Bad Habits are actions that do not help us achieve our long-term goals. So, stated another way, it is a battle that pits a conscious effort to do better actions against subconscious urges to do worse actions.

More about Habits.