TRANSCENDING UNHEALTHY HABITS
Chris Winters found Transformation.com in the summer of 2008. He read about the Challenge and decided that he really wanted to participate. As he began to assess what it was going to take to get to the level of health and happiness that he was envisioning, he identified a problem. A big problem in fact. You see, for the last five years, Chris developed a very unhealthy habit of drinking alcohol, often. And it had reached the point where he needed a drink of vodka just to get out of bed.
This bad habit had evolved into an addiction. It became clear to Chris that for him to succeed in the Challenge, he was going to have to confront, confess and deal with his situation. And you know what? He did! You can see from his before and after pictures here that his physical health completely changed for the better. At age 41, he's as athletic and strong as he's ever been. He not only rebuilt his body in 18 weeks, but he was able to transcend his limiting addiction and restore his relationship with his beautiful wife and their three young children. It's now been over a year and a half since Chris had to take a drink of alcohol. Today, he helps other people recover and renew their health and their lives.
Click here to watch Chris' Transformation Story video.
YOU CAN ONLY RISE AS HIGH AS YOUR LOWEST LEVEL HABIT
As Chris discovered, breaking free from the chains of unhealthy behaviors can allow you to take a quantum leap forward in your life. But until you do, there's no end to the amount of time we can spend imprisoned, missing out on the full spectrum of what life has to offer.
Some people's 'lowest level habit' is occasionally eating one too many candy bars. But most often, with people who choose transformation, it's something more than that. There are almost as many kinds of addictive habits as there are people. Yes, it includes drug and alcohol problems. And more often than most people realize the substance of abuse can be something that seems so innocent... food. We can even get addicted to anger, complaining and self-pity because these emotional states release significant quantities of adrenalin, serotonin and certain endorphins. Adrenalin becomes a 'DOC' (drug of choice) for millions of people who can't bear to feel their own emotions. Unfortunately numbing our feelings is not a solution to anything, it simply creates more problems in the long run. Our emotional states are rich with valuable information which helps us learn what we need to change in order to get back in alignment with our healthy self.
HABITS VS. ADDICTION
How do you know if you've got a bad habit... or an addiction? You should be able to change the habit on your own. Whereas an addiction is a bad habit that you can't stop doing on your own. Addiction runs the spectrum from relatively superficial on one end to a deep psychic hook on the other. They present a physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual health challenge, and therefore require a multidimensional, integrated solution.
From my 20 years of study and real-world experience, it's become increasingly clear that so much of the preventable ill health, depression and suffering that goes on in America today is caused by addiction. Far more than most people realize. Easily well into the tens of millions of people. And because this isn't widely recognized, we continue to see the proliferation of gimmicky diets and other quick fixes which will never work in the long run because they're produced by people who have actually no idea what the real problem is. And until you understand the deeper issues involved, you'll never be able to delineate a viable solution. The higher truth of this matter is that most people would have already stopped living an unhealthy lifestyle if they could. When we can't, we're not merely looking at how to make healthier choices; in fact, choice can have very little to do with it. When a person's bad habits become addictions, there is no longer any choice.
Audio Coaching
Listen to Bill Phillips describe in detail, key parts of this Assignment which will help you make progress this week.
Right click here and select Save As to Download MP3
Transformation Video
Chris Winters
Before & After Photos
Chris from Nevada became 123 lbs. lighter in 2009.
Comments
Bill, the clarity and heartfelt sincerity of the way you express your journey from alcohol and a shield of muscle to the inner strength of the spirit and true joy brought tears to my eyes. You never cease to inspire and uplift me and thousands of others. I am so grateful for your incredible generosity by providing this FREE website and all that you do to help so many people in the world. With my sincere love and gratitude, Jackie
Wow ... I've just started week three. Usually I wait until after I've completed the assignment to post, but this time I feel compelled to also share at the beginning. First of all, I am so grateful that you designed the program so that we have a week to work on each segment to enable the truths within to unfold quite naturally. Upon first read-through I felt my lowest level habit was mindless TV wataching, but with further insight I realize it is "Apathy." What's interesting to me about this is ... I always hate it when someone shows indifference towards something - I'd rather they be hot or cold - but not indifferent. Yet I realize that's exactly what I do when I sit around not getting involved in life. I'm gonna post again at end of Week 3. Thank you for the insight. I know it will help me. It has already been said ... but it is true for me as well ... This is just what I needed. It is amazing how each segment of this process works together. Bill, you truly have a gift. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
Mine is eating before bed, I feel nausous, if hungry at bedtime. As of late, raw broccoli and hummus dip has worked quite well. Another is the stress of "thinking conflict", putting adrenline on my heart, and making it palpate. So "thinking control" exercises, are in progress. Thanks for the thought stimulation Bill.
Bill, the 2 main answers I have for this assignment are easy for me to answer, BUT hard for me to admit and confess to others. The addiction I've had since I was a small child is ice cream and it's gotten worse the older I get. Eating ice cream is like a stress reliever for me.To eat a whole half gallon in one sitting is no problem. My wife says..."That's not fat around your waist, that's Ice Cream!" My worst bad habit I have is eating during every T.V. commercial at nighttime. I'm always going to the kitchen to see what I can find to snack on. These are issues I'll be dealing with for the rest of my life, but thanks to this transformation I'm learning ways to cope with them. Thanks for bringing them to my attention! Bellyflopper
this is week three for me i have been sick for about a week so no exercise but still eating good and the addiction part is a big transformation for me as i drink and blame depression financial and work thats why i drink every day and to much. but now on week three good food and not one drop of alcohol since the day after superbowel. hooray!!! if anybody has these same issues we need to encourage each other so we can and all will succeed!!!! .......renegaderedneck
This is not going to be easy! I know exactly what it is. This is where I face my fear of failure. I have tried for years so many different things to break myself of this issue. Keeping a positive attitude while dealing with stress is my greatest challenge! When I get upset or angry and fly off the handle it really sets a bad example to my kids and makes me feel awful. Which then leads to eating bad. But this time around it's going to be the Final round and Im gonna knock this one OUT! Thanks Bill, your the best! ~ Elle
Addiction. HHmmmm... I don't drink, smoke or do drugs and I'm not promiscuous ... it must be overeating. This exercise is going to take some deep introspection and I know I will be able to identify my addiction and move forward.
its going to be work ,thank you for being there
This is going to be a very powerful and freeing assignment for me I can tell.
This is going to be a hard one! LOL Something I need to do and face though - Thank you! Hugs ~Cher
i wonder if work is an adrenaline rush for me. And I do it as a way to control my moods?
Exactly what I needed to hear...Thank you.
Good morning, Bill. I have to tell you...this homework #3 was a little unnerving, distressing, challenging. (Ah, yes, a challenging homework for the Challenge)! What I wrote was only a quarter of what I felt during this past week - much of which wound up in my journal. You touched me when you said that now your muscles aren't as beefy...that the healing process had helped you work through whatever was driving that in the first place. I understand. I WANT AND NEED to be able to relinquish my desire to overachieve in order to overcompensate for all that I fear I am not. And I really want to try to understand WHY I have been "addicted to chaos" my entire life (though I hope that's another assignment down the line)! I want the healing process you experienced and am very grateful for your willingness to share the signposts along the path. With many thanks, Heather
Your statement: "We can even get addicted to anger, complaining and self-pity because these emotional states release significant quantities of adrenalin, serotonin and certain endorphins. Adrenalin becomes a 'DOC' (drug of choice) for millions of people who can't bear to feel their own emotions." This really gave me a big clue as to what my sugar/food addiction centers around. Thanks for this information. Time to "take action" not just ruminate on the information as I used to do!!:D
Thank you Bill. You are an amazing teacher. I so appreciate you and your sharing and how much it contributes to my growing and learning as well as so many others. ~Nita
Hi Bill, my husband Joe's mother died last year in July of cancer aged 59 years and it is very hard for him and me and all of his family. Thank you for sharing your story and your life with us. Regards Felicity
Bill, this was definitely more difficult for me than assignments #1 and #2, which surprised me. I had to think about it for a few days before even beginning to write, because of feeling so sad and ashamed to put into words my habit - negativity. I finally finished writing tonight, on the eve of beginning week 4, and I feel very good about where I am heading. Thank you for all that you do and for giving us tools to look at ourselves in the mirror with honesty and to find the drive to move forward.
I've put it off long enough and now it's finished and posted. Thank you for giving us the tools to improve ourselves.
Wow, I have been avoiding reading this assignment for about 3 days by filling the hours with video gaming! This clearly transferred addictive activity. Just before christmas, I swore off poker until I lost 75 lbs, and accomplished a few other things I deem important. I have kept that promise, only to consume endless hours playing on my computer. This assignment is perfectly timed for where I am today.
Wow - thought I would be writing about one thing, but God had other plans for this assignment! It was the hardest one I have done, since I have been at Transformation.com, because it was the very thing I have tried to "control" in my life. Writing it was all about surrendering it, and admitting that I need help with it. Thank you for an incredible assignment. I am still "all in." Love ya, Kimberly
Bill, thank you for your honesty about how you were before you quit drinking. I have two relatives who did the same thing you did and I am so proud of them for it. This assignment will be "easy" to write. I know my lowest level habits...I'm just having a terrible time in breaking them. God blessed me to never have the desire to drink or smoke. For that I am ever grateful. However, my other bad habits are engulfing me. This assignment is probably the key to all success in my life. I'll work hard. Thanks.
Bill- This assignment is bitter sweet for me. I'm excited, yet hesitant. I want to reveal why I've been active most of my life in unhealthy behaviors. I recognize the issue(s) has disguised itself in many different forms over the years. Until recently, I thought I had overcome these relentless manifestations of addiction. Because I wasn't acting out unacceptable behaviors meant I was cured; until I realized what and how much I was eating. This became my accepted form of disfunction, while taking the pressure off of revealing the root of my problem. I'm truely concerned of what is yet to come if this is not dealt with properly. It may resurface with a vengence causing me to lose everything I love so dearly. I've realized that avoiding myself, situations, and others really means I'm not in the clear. I have hope and faith that this 18 week process is going to bring me out of the dark and into the light. It may be difficult but will be incredibly liberating. Wish me luck. I'm running behind with these assignments, not because I've negleted them, I have awakened toughts and memories that have been dormate for years. Fondly, Janell222
Bill, I havenbeen reviewing this assignment for 2 weeks waiting for some inspiration that would allow me to correctly identify my unhealthy habit. It finally came to me last night and when it did the words flowed from my fingers when I was posting for this assignment. Thank you for giving me the blueprint to identify this habit. You have started me on the road to transformation. I look forward to the journey. Bill
Wow, Bill - I'm just getting back from 10 days away on a trip and have just finished reading this one - Thank you SO MUCH for sharing YOUR experience with us. It is what gives us courage, and allows the trust necessary to follow this RIGHT program. There is no doubt in my mind that you are led by your HIGHER POWER. I'm fighting off bronchitis, but can't wait to get back AT IT. Blessings and love - Johnnie Lorren
Hi Bill. This is a really tough and somewhat scary assignment. I've given this a lot of thought over the weekend and I will be posting in the next day or two. I feel that the job I do on this task will really have a profound effect on the next 16 weeks and beyond. There were so many options to choose from! Thanks for providing such great resistance training for the ego. Average Joe