everybody has to discover God on their own. They have to lay aside  known definitions and  cherished values and  replace them with new ones which are just more real.
At some time in life, all your known paths and value systems become just junk.

to replace bad habits with new ones, you run into the problem. the new habit must have meaning.
you need a new ecosystem of meaning to go around the new behaviour.  replacement behaviours are expensive. they need encouragement and attention and celebration, else they won't become habits.
and habits are gunning for.
acknowledgement of new behaviour by others are not enough - this will help to remind you that you are doing something different, but this is not enough.
for the new behaviour to become a habit, it must pay for itself,   it must become repititive, it must survive long enough to become unconscious.

a behaviour can pay for itself  if  you can see growth - you can pump a bigger number, you can run more time without dying.  som etimes the payload is mental .
there is often a lot of friction with the real world - your idea of behaviour will  almost always clash.
being water here is to bend enough to stay a bamboo tree  .
there is a constant challenge to determine your real enemies and focus your daily effort on the enemy of the day/hour.

the only solution is to be eternally distrusting the status quo.  (is this Mumon's Mu ?)