How To Eliminate Bad Habits

Hello Kings & Queens :)

 

The main reasons for bad habits are stress and boredom. They then can lead to addiction - dependency.  

 

How to know if a habit is bad:

- Negative changes in your health

- You lose sleep because of them

- Decline in performance

- Negative changes in your mood

 

Some bad habits I have overcome include: drinking alcohol, not drinking enough water & not getting enough sleep.

I will now outline 10 ways in which you can eliminate bad habits. 

 

1. Practice self-love

When you do this you cannot allow bad habits to exist. Treat your body like a temple.. with the right food, drink, care & information. Your most important relationship is that one with yourself. Self-love can stop the bad habits such as always saying yes to everyone despite wanting to say no, people-pleasing, negative self-talk, bad thoughts, and unhealthy and toxic relationships with others. Love is one of the most powerful forces. 

 

2. Focus on your goals

If you are focused on your goals, you know that bad habits will take you further away from your goals. Anything dragging you away is a distraction. Your attention should be on what you want, you get what you think about most of the time. So knowing this you surely would want to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals quicker? Write them down and work towards them daily, put your focus there. When you are so busy working towards your future you genuinely do not have time to feed bad habits. This feels naturally rewarding.

 

3. Replace a bad habit with a good one.

- Identify WHY you have this bad habit, what is the route cause, and the underlying issue. What triggers this habit? 

- Make a list of why you want to change this habit

- Figure out something you can do instead

- Replacing is more effective than stopping the habit alone. 

- Think long term

Habits usually satisfy short-term pleasures, for example, nail-biting may calm your nerves right away, and alcohol masks your pain for a short period but the long-term effects are worse.. sore fingers that look unappealing. Health, psychological and physical damage from alcohol abuse.

 

4. Get support from a friend

Having someone to talk to could help you, they can encourage you when you are in doubt and help remind you of your why. Also, they can notice if you slip back into your old habits. You don't have to go through it alone, it can be easier to go through it with a friend.

 

5. Reminders

You could stick pieces of paper around your room or where you usually think of the bad habit or where you usually perform the bad habit. For example, if you are trying to cut out fizzy drinks, the best place to place this note would be on the fridge. Another example is if you spend too much time on your phone you can set app limits, same as a note but virtual which notifies you that you have used up all your time on the app and shuts you out. 

 

6. Start small

If you wanted to cut out snacking and you snack daily, firstly you could cut out snacking 3 times a week for a couple of weeks. After that keep cutting it down until the snacking has stopped. This will prevent a relapse, and reverting to the swapping for good habits, try adding in healthy snacks to replace the bad.

 

7. Visualisation

Visualise yourself breaking the bad habit. How will you feel when you finally decide to stop it and not look back? Practice different reactions and responses in your mind.

 

8. Self Care

- Make time for good sleep

- Eat as healthy as possible

- Try to be physically active daily

- Self-develop a 1-hour minimum daily

- Do a mood improvement activity daily

- Make a plan.. then execute

Write down the steps and actions that you are going to take to overcome these bad habits. Having a clear plan increases your chances of success in breaking a bad habit.

 

9. Practice mindfulness

Your brain will be trained to respond to situations differently, you will be able to stop and think before you react to something. With mindfulness, you become aware of yourself and your feelings.

 

10. Be patient

Many resources will say it takes 28 days to break a habit, but in reality, it depends on the individual, it can range from 18-245 days. Don't beat yourself up about it, just know that the result will be worth it.

 

Start putting these into practice today, live that life you have always dreamed of.

 

Leave a comment below & let me know how this article has helped you out :) 

 

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With love,