Neuroscience is showing that small changes in your life can have a big effect on your health and wellbeing. Exercise, focusing on your positive characteristics, feeling grateful, meditation, being more mindful or simply focusing on your breath can actually change the brain and improve your mood and help you swap bad habits for good ones. By making these simple things a part of your routine you can increase your will-power and motivation to help achieve your goals. Tiny changes in your life can change your behaviours to improve your health, mood and wellbeing. Bad habits are just impulses that have become routines. These bad habits such as smoking or overeating or drinking too much, get worse when we feel stressed or sad. Bad habits and addictions are automatic responses to triggers and associations. When you know what your triggers are it can be as simple as removing the triggers. It is easier to avoid temptation than resist it. However life is not that simple, we cannot easily remove the triggers in our lives, but we can create new healthier habits. Hypnosis can help you create healthier habits and stick to them permanently. Basically to create new habits we have to practice doing the new positive habit until we rewire the brain and these habits become automatic. Habits are things you do without thinking. The first step to achieving your goals is awareness and the second is believing it is possible. Then make the decision and stick to it, even if you fail at first, keep trying until it becomes a permanent habit. You are in control and you can choose the path you want to take All habits are created by repetition. Exercise is one of the most powerful tools. Studies have been done on smokers; the group that exercised for 10 minutes increased they willpower – their brain wanted cigarettes less than the group that did not exercise. (Acute exercise modulates cigarette cravings and brain activation in response to smoking-related images: An MRI study. 2009) Studies in the UK showed discovered a clever way to help smokers quit. Simply self-affirmations! Smokers were asked a series of questions. The control group were asked random questions like “What is your favourite ice-cream flavour” the other group were asked self-affirming questions that got them thinking of their positive traits and characteristics. Both groups then read the information on the negative effects of smoking. The group that focused on their positive qualities developed a strong intent to quit smoking and this was even more evident with the heaviest smokers. This study was also done focusing on a healthy diet and the study found the self-affirmation group significantly ate a healthier diet the week following. (Self-Affirmation promotes health behaviour change. Health Psychology, 2008). When you start a new habit it does require effort – hypnotherapy and coaching can help you swap your bad habits for good.