We all have daily habits that provide a little sense of relief when we are feeling stressed. Because they make us feel so great, the ease and comfort of life’s vices (small and large) are easy to justify.

While it may be more appealing to stick to our ways, changing a habit is totally possible -- and mindfulness is one huge avenue that can help us make changes to habits that are more harmful than helpful.

Consider the story of this 30-something year-old woman who takes a deeper look within to put an end to her drinking habit.

Here’s the story she shares:

Like many women, a nightly glass of red wine was becoming my solution to the stresses and spinning thoughts of my day.

I fell into that cycle without thinking twice about how it could escalate from something I wanted to something I needed. 

Thankfully, through mindfulness, I began to think about what was driving me from 1 glass of wine to 2 or 3 glasses (with the occasional vodka-on-the-rocks on particularly rough days). Getting to the root of what issue I was looking to resolve with this habit is what helped me break it.

I started small. I read a study out of London that 11 minutes of meditation a day helped heavy drinkers curb their cravings.

So, I tried meditating a few minutes a day -- and at first, it was torturous. The anger, self-loathing and insecurity I used to ignore was suddenly right in the front of my mind... along with those steady thoughts of -- “I NEED a drink right now!”

The minutes sitting felt like hours, but I continued to sit. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it properly.

After about a week of daily meditating, I felt a subtle shift in my attitude towards sitting and thinking. Instead of seeing my thoughts and resisting them, I started accepting them as thoughts that did not have to turn into actions. 

The more I took a look at them, the less severe my thinking seemed to be. They say your thoughts are like cars on a freeway -- why would you jump into every one? Slowly but surely, I trained my brain to simply watch the cars speed by. 

As the weeks passed, anxiety and boredom would pop up --- but I no longer felt the need or conditioning to simply pick up a drink over them. 

Today, I’m meditating regularly and haven’t had any urge to drink for the last few years.

Will it last? Who knows. But for now, I’ll keep building my mindfulness muscle and see where it takes me. And it’s kind of nice not knowing where I’ll end up - which I can’t say about drinking every night.

Mindfulness worked for me. If there’s a habit you’re looking to change, perhaps it could for you too. And whatever you do, however you get there, focus on enjoying the ride.