• Start
    Here
    • Start Here
    • About Barb
    • Barb Raveling’s Books
    • Renew Your Mind Seminar
    • Leader’s Guides & Resources
    • Contact
  • Renew
    Your Mind
    • Renewing of the Mind Project
    • Renewing of the Mind Tools
    • Grow Closer to God
    • Transformation 101
    • Renewing Your Mind Bible Study
  • Bible
    Studies
    • Free Bible Studies
    • Leader’s Guides & Resources
    • Online Bible Studies
  • Live In
    Peace
    • How To Live in Peace
    • Anger
    • Worry/Fear
    • Depression & Discontentment
    • Insecurity
    • Stress
    • Boredom
    • Other Emotions
  • Pursue
    A Goal
    • How to Start a Habit
    • How to Pursue a Goal
    • Goals and Productivity
    • Ministry and Blogging
  • Lose
    Weight
    • How to Lose Weight
    • Weight Loss Resources, Classes, & FAQ
    • Taste for Truth Christian Weight Loss Podcast
    • Christian Weight Loss App
    • Weight Loss Bible Study
    • Weight Loss Blog Posts
  • Break
    A Habit
    • How To Break a Habit
    • Habits Blog Posts
  • Podcasts &
    Coaching
    • Coaching with Barb
    • Christian Habits Podcast
    • Taste for Truth Christian Weight Loss Podcast
    • Podcast Interviews

Barb Raveling

Tips, Tools, & Bible Studies to Renew Your Mind

Subscribe

  • Home
  • Podcasts
    • Taste for Truth Christian Weight Loss Podcast
    • Christian Habits Podcast
You are here: Home / Habits Blog Posts / Questions that will Help You Break Free from Your Bad Habits

Questions that will Help You Break Free from Your Bad Habits

May 3, 2012 By: Barb Raveling

This post may contain affiliate links. View our disclosure policy here.

For the last two years I’ve been writing questions: questions to help people start habits, questions to help people stop habits, and questions to help people break free from their negative emotions.

The questions are designed to attack specific lies, so all you need to do is find out what lie you’re believing and then turn to that set of questions for help. Here’s an example:

Let’s say I’m trying to break the habit of too much time on the computer. My boundaries are three times a day on the computer for no more than one hour total. I keep track of my boundaries by keeping a file on my computer where I record the times I get on and off each day.

So here I am trying to follow my boundaries, but I’m having a rough day. Everything is going wrong and I feel like I deserve a little break. I’ve already used up my computer time for the day, but I’m tempted to get on again. Here’s the lie I’m believing: I deserve this.

So I turn to the entitlement questions.

How to Use the Questions

Think of the questions as a foundation for a conversation with God: you’re sitting together, you with a cup of coffee, He with a listening ear, and you’re talking over your habit with Him.

You’re enjoying your time together until the second or third question, when you start to get a little uncomfortable. You keep going because you love God. But as the questions progress, you get more and more convicted.

Finally you can’t stand it anymore. You put your coffee aside and fall on the floor before Him, ready to do His will. As soon as you feel that shift in your beliefs and your willingness to do His will, the desire for your habit evaporates.

If I’m approaching the questions from this angle, God uses them to change me. If I’m approaching them like an item on my checklist, all I get is a little check.

For me it’s easier to see life from God’s perspective if I take the time to write the answers in my journal, but if I’m pressed for time I just go through them in my head.

When should I do the questions?

The questions work best if you get on top of your desires first thing in the morning. If you wait until you’re in a frenzy of wanting your habit, the questions probably won’t work.

Often in a situation like that, I don’t have enough control to do the questions, so I just do my habit and then renew my mind as soon as possible after I do my habit.

Why bother renewing my mind after I do my habit?

Remember when I talked about preparation truth? If you renew your mind after you do your habit, you’ll be preparing for the next time that temptation rolls around. Not to mention the fact that if you really love your habit, afterwards might be the only time you can make yourself do it.

Are you ever going to get to the questions?

What can I say? I’m a mom, I feel compelled to give a long explanation first. But here are the questions – actually, I’ll put the questions in a separate post. That way you can print them out if you want to try using them with your own habit.

Since we talked about entitlement in our example, I’ll post those questions today and then talk more about entitlement or give you an example of how I would answer the questions next time. Here’s the link: Entitlement Bible Verses and Questions 

P.S. Since I wrote this post, I’ve launched an app with more than 32 sets of questions on it to help you break free from your habits and negative emotions. Although it’s geared toward weight loss, it can also help with other habits. Here’s the link: I Deserve a Donut.

Image: sakhorn38 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Related Posts:

  • Spiritual Attack: 10 Tips for Spiritual Warfare
  • How to Stop Being Angry – 12 Tips
  • How to Choose Weight Loss Boundaries (and Lies That Make Us…
192 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Search Blog

Connect with us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Popular Posts

  • Spiritual Attack: 10 Tips for Spiritual Warfare
  • How to Meditate on Scripture
  • How To Renew Your Mind
  • How to Make Yourself Exercise and Renew with Anna
  • Weight Loss Bible Study: Day 1
  • 35: 7 Ways to Get Closer to God
  • How to Overcome Insecurity with God’s Help
  • When Life is Boring: 10 Questions & 9 Bible Verses
  • 29: 6 Steps to Breaking Free From Self-Condemnation
  • Christian Accountability Partner: A Beginner’s Guide

Archives

Categories

  • Anger
  • Bible Studies/Worksheets
  • Boredom
  • Christian Habits Podcast
  • Depression/Discontentment
  • Goals and Productivity
  • Grow Closer to God
  • Habits Blog Posts
  • Insecurity
  • Letting Go of Negative Emotions
  • Marriage
  • Ministry and Blogging
  • Other Emotions
  • Stress
  • Transformation 101
  • Uncategorized
  • Weight Loss Blog Posts
  • Weight Loss Podcast
  • Worry/Fear
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (www.lockman.org).
Copyright © 2023 • Custom blog design by The Pixelista • Built on the Genesis Framework
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT