Do you have bad habits you want to break?
- Grabbing your phone before you get out of bed.
- Falling asleep with your makeup on or without brushing your teeth.
- Talking negatively to yourself.
- Grabbing chips or a candy bar at 3:00 every day.
- Sitting in front of the TV after dinner and not getting up until you go to bed.
- Drinking a beer or glass of wine to wind down at the end of the day.
- Making snide comments about other people.
- Getting lost in social media when you should be doing something else.
- Biting your nails.
- Doing too much online shopping.
Unless you are perfect, which no one is, you probably do at least one of those things. And you probably want to find ways to break bad habits. It is not easy.
My bad habits have been coming up a lot for me because I’m working on some health and mindset issues. I’m learning to recognize when I do things automatically without thinking. Some of those bad habits keep me from changing areas of my life I want to change.
So, I want to break those bad habits.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” —Aristotle
Here’s an example of a bad habit I want to break.
I want to shed some extra weight, so I weigh myself every day with my chosen program. Things were going well, and I was dropping some pounds, but then one afternoon, I grabbed some chips (and I can never eat just one) because I was hungry midafternoon. The next morning when I weighed myself, all the weight I had lost came back!
Last year at this time, I would have berated myself and quit my healthy program. If I can’t have chips, I quit! But, today, I am learning from that experience and understanding how my body processes food. If I want positive changes, chips might have to go. But to break that habit, I have to swap chips with a healthier alternative that will satisfy me.
That is one way to break a bad habit; replace it. Here are a few more.
7 Ways to Break Bad Habits
Discover Your Triggers
A trigger is something that stimulates your brain to perform a particular action. Your environment, who you are with, your emotions, what time it is, and other habits can all be triggers. Your response to those triggers can be good or bad. When you discover what triggers a bad habit, take a closer look, and see how you can change it up.
Example: My trigger is being hungry midafternoon, and my response is to eat chips.
“A change in bad habits leads to a change in life.” —Jenny Craig
Replace the Habit
Disrupt the trigger and response of your bad habit by replacing it with something else. The new behavior “interferes” with the old habit and prevents your brain from going into autopilot. The more you reach for something to replace the bad habit, the more it becomes routine and becomes your new “good” habit.
Example: Instead of reaching for chips, I choose a piece of fruit or carrots instead.
Hang Out with Similar Minded People
This can be a tough one, but if you are trying to stop drinking wine, and you go out to eat with your friends every week where you drink wine, you may need to switch up this routine. Suggest another activity or go out with friends who don’t drink. Having a conversation with your friends and family about the changes you are trying to make will also be helpful. Hopefully, they will support your new lifestyle and can be accountability partners.
“All bad habits start slowly and gradually, and before you know you have the habit, the habit has you.” —Zig Ziglar
Use Visualization
I use visualization a lot. Seeing myself doing the things I love and living a healthy life help change my thoughts and beliefs to believe it is possible. Same with habits. Visualize yourself exercising after work instead of grabbing a glass of wine. Reading before bed instead of scrolling through social media. Showing off your beautiful nails instead of chewing them.
The trick behind visualization is that your brain cannot differentiate between what is already true and fiction. Therefore, your brain will think that you have already broken a bad habit, and you’ll start acting accordingly, unconsciously.
Know Your Why
Why do you want to change your habit? To continue to replace your bad habit with a good one, you have to see positive results. What are those positive results you are looking for? Have more productivity, feel healthier, save money, create a more positive mindset, etc.? A habit has to be enjoyable for it to last. And you need to see improvement in your life for it to stick.
“Bad habits are our enemies because they hinder us from being the person we want to be.” —Joyce Meyer
Using Breaking Bad Habits Psychology
Habit Stack
Habit stacking is pairing an action you want to do with an action you need to do. Using a current good habit and add another good habit to it.
Here are some examples from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. (If you want to dig deeper into habits, this is one of the best books on the subject.)
- After I pour my cup of coffee each morning, I will meditate for one minute.
- When I take off my work shoes, I will immediately change into my workout clothes.
- After I sit down to dinner, I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened today.
- When I get into bed at night, I will kiss my partner.
- After I put on my running shoes, I will text a friend or family member where I am running and how long it will take.
- When I want to buy something over $100, I will wait 24 hours before purchasing.
- At mealtime, I will put veggies on my plate first.
I will add:
- When I get ready for bed, I will listen to a chapter of my book while I wash my face and brush and floss my teeth.
- When my stomach growls in the afternoon, I will drink a glass of water first.
“First we form habits; then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they will conquer you.” —Robert Gilbert
Change One Habit at a Time
Allow your brain to settle into your new habit before you start trying to change another one. Your self-control and willpower are limited, and if you try to do too much at once, you will accomplish nothing. Give yourself time to do it properly, so the bad habit doesn’t creep back into your life.
Habits happen when you train your mind to do repeating things. Constant repetition. You can change the bad habits by retraining your mind. Break the pattern. Change your routines. Change your thoughts.
If there is something you are doing that prevents you from reaching your goals, try a few of these tips on how to break bad habits.
I’ve already decided that I will no longer buy chips, and when I get hungry in the afternoon, I will either drink water or go for a walk instead.
What will you do to break your bad habits?
“A bad habit never disappears miraculously. It’s an undo-it-yourself project.” —Abigail Van Buren
Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
9 Quotes and Tips for Creating Healthy Habits
8 Daily Habits to Help You Make the Most of Your Life
10 Small Things You Can Do to Eat Healthier
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