Last week, the work to imagine your “best self” may have brought out things that you don’t like about yourself or feel ashamed of. That is natural, and this week’s work helps put that information to use. If nothing came up last week, that’s ok too. This week, we are looking at what we don’t like about ourselves or may feel shame about. We are looking at this in an empowered way as we finish the sentence, “I will no longer….”

Fill in the blank with things, big or small, that you wish to stop doing. These things can also be habits that do not serve you. They can be things that you think or do. Be as creative as you feel. The most important aspect is to choose behaviors that are barriers to your happiness. By completing this sentence every day, you are committing to the work to stop negative behaviors.

A negatively primed person will have a very long and imposing list. A key is to list only one thing a day. A negatively primed person will also doubt that this will work. It is not a cure-all. It is an important step in stopping self-sabotage. Identifying the behaviors that are holding you back will allow you to see what needs to change. Once you know what needs to change, you can commit to doing the work to change it.

A positively primed person will bite off more than they can chew, such as by selecting overly ambitious goals that have been haunting them. I recommend, instead, targeting the behavior that creates the issue. For example, if procrastination is an issue, taking time to investigate the cause of procrastination will be helpful. I find that dishonesty is a big part of procrastination. Perhaps instead of “I will no longer procrastinate” something along the lines of “I will no longer mislead myself about time” can nudge you in the right direction.

A neutrally primed person will struggle to think of what to stop. It helps to consider what in your life you want less of, and what you want more of. For example, if you want more time to relax, then stopping the behaviors that create situations that do not result in leisure time can help. If you want to stop settling for less than you deserve, then aim to stop the behaviors that communicate you deserve less.

Everyone can be their “best self.” Achieving this is about minimizing the behaviors that get in your way.