297. How to Change Your Desires (A Catholic Guide to Habit Change)

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a loop—doing the exact things you want to stop doing, and failing to start the habits you actually want to build?

In this final episode of our Discernment Series on the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin dive into the practical neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and Catholic theology (hello, St. Thomas Aquinas!) behind how to actually change and redirect your desires.

Many of us feel stuck with our disordered attachments, but our minds are plastic and designed by God for virtue. Desire itself isn't the enemy; the secret is learning how to starve your lesser desires and intensify your desire for the highest goods.

In this episode, Erin puts Matt in the hot seat for a raw, vulnerable live coaching session on overcoming his own desire for the esteem of others, shifting from a "slave mentality" to resting fully in the safety and security of God the Father's house.

We break down a practical 6-step protocol to help you:
• Identify and detach from disordered desires.
• Interrupt the reward cycles and create distance from triggers (like social media or metrics).
• Focus attention, build a new identity, and take small actions that rewrite your neural pathways.

It’s time to stop fighting with willpower alone and start cooperating with God's grace to rewrite your habits from the inside out!