It’s not the action that separates me from God, it’s my beliefs about it. The action is just an outward manifestation of what I believe or what’s inside of me.

Trying to stop the habit, issue, or infraction won’t happen if my beliefs about it don’t change.

A simple example of this would be smoking cigarettes. When I light up and smoke out of habit, I believe they help me calm down. Where did I get that belief, from my experience? My mind will continue to defend the use of cigarettes because of that belief, and it’s scientifically proven.

It does not matter what you think about cigarettes, it only matters what I think about them. Renewing my mind will help me rid myself of the things I wish to change, starting with what I believe about it.

I had to come to the place where I believed they were expensive, smelled everything up, and were not overall helpful for my health, then it was easy to quit.

This example can be applied to any belief for any reason.