Thanks for the question. The first step is to stop judging oneself negatively or positively based on certain ‘bad’ habits. Certain habits are bad because they are harmful and not because they are sinful. One must also know that having certain bad habits doesn’t make someone bad as a person. The first fundamental practice in yoga is to separate the activities of nature from the inner self by practicing the attitude of an inner witness. One should learn to step back and be a witness to all the thoughts, feelings, impulses arising within oneself. Instead of being carried away by everything rising within oneself one should wait and watch. Most often it is enough to cut down the force of impulse, with practice of course.
The second thing to do is to see the tendency in the right measure, become conscious of its originating triggers and the aftermath. Apply the will and also offer the impulse or the action to the Divine Mother with the aspiration to get rid of it.
With patience and perseverance it is bound to succeed. But don’t let it define you. Define yourself with your highest aspiration and keep growing within regardless of any outer obstacle. The more you move towards the future, the more these tendencies will slowly fade and be left behind as a relic of the past.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
