Do you still feel tired even after eight hours of sleep? Does fatigue continue to haunt you after a brief rest? Do you feel like an engine deprived of oil that can make it run smoothly and effortlessly?

This feeling occurs too often. It is something that can happen to anybody, including you.

Experts explain this as something that has to do with behavior patterns that we unconsciously develop. There are times in life that we develop a behavior pattern, which we are not aware of until we fall into its bottomless pit. This negative behavior pattern has the tendency to pull down our spirits. It works very similar to the law of gravity - exerting a force that pulls down everything.

The good news is, you can do something about it and elevate your sagging spirits. The change need not be abrupt. The wrong behavior patterns that you have learned can be unlearned by adopting new and correct patterns of behavior.

This is where the challenge lies. Deeply ingrained behaviors are difficult to change, for people always seek the easy route or the comfort of the status quo. It may not be easy, but it can be done. Consider this perspective: Always remember that if you do not do the right behavior, you fuel the habit of doing the wrong behavior.

For example, you hardly have any exercise. The mere thought of going to the gym or taking a walk makes you wince. You snuggle under bedcovers, thinking you can do it tomorrow. You spend the day watching television munching unhealthy food. At the end of the day, you feel awful for having no self-discipline. You promise to exercise the following day. When the next day comes, the cycle stays the same.

Think of it this way: when you miss a workout, its not like you just stay at the same level youre at. You actually take a few steps back. Every time you miss a workout, you have done something to strengthen the habit of not working out. The more workouts you miss, the stronger the negative behavior grows.

How do you change behavior patterns painlessly? You can start small by allotting fifteen to twenty minutes of your television time for exercise time. Try this for about two weeks. When your body is used to this new schedule, you may gradually increase your exercise time to half an hour. This automatically reduces your television time by a total of thirty minutes.

Say you spend most of the time sitting by the window thinking of fears, anxiety, apprehension, and all sorts of mumbo jumbo thoughts entering your mind. Replace this unproductive habit with a productive behavior. You might want to pick up a book and read it, or take your pet dog for a walk (this gives you the exercise you need at the same time). You can also spend idle time in socializing occasionally, doing occasional volunteer work, or just have plain fun with family or friends.

So you see, there are ways of changing behavior patterns. The technique is to do it gradually. Start small with just a few minutes a day for a week or two, increase the time for the weeks, and so on. You will see an amazing transformation in terms of mental, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment after a couple of weeks. The brooding feeling will be lifted and you will feel energized with the new pattern of behavior.

Again, it should be emphasized that for the new behavior patterns to take root, any improvement must be done gradually, giving it time to sink into your life for you to enjoy its long-term benefits.

Attempting to hasten behavioral change by doing it in large doses or in one gulp might not produce promising effects for improvement. Instead, it might lead to pain and frustration that might not give the same motivation to continue with the change process.

A gradual improvement with long-term effects is definitely worth your time and wait.