The Buddha once said:
Abandon what is unskillful. One can abandon the unskillful. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it. If this abandoning of the unskillful would bring harm and suffering, I would not ask you to abandon it. But as it brings benefit and happiness, therefore I say, abandon what is unskillful.
Cultivate the good. One can cultivate the good. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it. If this cultivation were to bring hard and sufferig, I would not ask you to do it. But as this cultivation brings benefit and happiness, I say, cultivate the good.
This quote is referring rather specifically to developing integrity on a spiritual path - by distinguishing the habits and influences in the mind between those that lead to love and awareness (skillful) and those that reinforce false seperation (unskillfull). From the book: Loving-Kindness by Sharon Salzberg
Deep, I know!
But I am reading this book at a time when I'm not quite so far into my spiritual path so all of the talk of love and awareness is still a little abstract for me. That said, this message can be interpreted rather literally, outside of the spiritual context.
For me, it serves as a good reminder, and almost a boost of confidence, that bad habits can be changed. And when I do change them, it will feel good! So many times I, and I'm sure many others, feel like we'll never be able to break a bad habit. Or develop new good habits. From eatting, to relationships, to whatever else! It is always so difficult to change bad habits even when we know they are bad and develop new, good ones even when we know it will help us!
So if you get discouraged, I suggest reading this - sometimes you just need a little reminder!
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