Do you want to know how to change your bad habit?
You have just come to the right place.
Sometimes bad habits can interrupt and prevent you from reaching your goals.
They can also endanger your life – both mentally and physically.
Sadly, bad habits can often become so deeply-rooted that we don’t notice we are doing them.
In other words, they become involuntary.
So, it takes a responsive effort, smart planning, and self-control to break free from bad habits.
Therefore, knowing how to change a bad habit is very essential.
This is why we have come up with this blog post.
In this article, you will get some important tips on how you can change your bad behavior.
Read through to find out more!
How To Change Your Bad Habits
Changing a bad habit can be challenging and sometimes frustrating.
This is because they are something you are already used to.
They are part of your waking up, sleeping, and daily routine or activities.
It can be related to your diet.
Yours could be procrastinating and running away from problems.
So, trying to quit may look so cumbersome to you.
However, the good news is you can overcome your bad habit.
Before we move on to the tips on how you can change your bad habit, let us define what is a bad habit.
So, What’s a Bad Habit
Bad habits are repetitive negative behavior patterns.
They are things you often practice or do from your subconscious mind.
Basically, they are likely to occur as a result of stress or boredom.
Below are tips on how you can change your bad habits.
Tips On How To Change Your Bad Habit
Having said what bad habit is and what can cause them, let us consider how to change them.
Before we begin outlining the steps on how to change your bad habit, you must understand what it takes.
Changing bad habits requires dedication, determination, and patience.
Listed below are the steps on how you can change your bad habit.
Identify The Bad Behavior You Want To Change
Identifying your bad habit is one of the ways you can bring an end or change your bad habit.
So, just thinking you have a bad habit isn’t enough.
You also need to take note of them and be sure of the ones you want to change.
This will go a long way to help you in changing them.
Once, you can identify them, this will give you the required will-power you need to break them.
You can identify your bad habit by asking yourself some honest questions or;
By Asking Other People
Most times, it is very difficult to recognize your bad habit on your own.
This is why you should ask people around you.
These are people that are so close to you – your spouse, colleagues, friends, and relatives.
You could ask them to give you feedback on your behavior generally both good and bad.
Thus, helping you identify and change your bad habits.
Below is a list of some bad habits that most people have.
- Swearing
- Picking of nose
- Biting your fingernails
- Smoking
- Getting drunk
- Drug abuse
- Eating with your mouth open
- Skipping breakfast
- Talking while eating
- Procrastination and laziness
Identify What Triggers Your Bad Habit and Cut Them Off
Now that you’ve been able to identify your bad habit.
Another way you can change them is by identifying what triggers your bad habit and cut them off.
One of the causes of a bad habit is stress and boredom.
Most times, to deal with your stress or boredom, you tend to cultivate those bad habits.
Stress can occur as a result of inner or deeper issues.
This could give rise to all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings.
So, when you are faced with such, you sub-consciously begin to express your bad habit.
This includes biting your finger to getting drunk or spending most of your time on the internet.
Some people may even eat more when they are bored while some drink or smoke when they are stressed.
So, being aware of the feelings or emotional cues that trigger your bad habit is vital in changing the bad habit.
After you have identified what triggers your bad behavior, next is to cut them off.
For instance, if you smoke when you drink, then considering drinking less or stopping drinking altogether.
This will make it easier for you to break free from the habit.
Ways you can manage what triggers your bad behavior – stress or boredom
- Exercise regularly
- Listen to good music
- Listen to inspirational tapes
- Associate with positive-minded people
Another way you can cut off what causes your bad habit is;
- Ask yourself where are you when you do your bad habit: The environment you find yourself may have a role to play in your bad behavior. Your bad habit may occur when you are at a certain location. Your own might be drinking when you are at a bar. Hence cut off being around those places that trigger your bad habits.
- Who you associate with: I’ve heard the saying that shows me your friends, I’ll tell you who you are. You have to know that when it comes to relationships or associations, everything matters. When you have a bad influence, you will surely have bad habits.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most of your time with – Jim Rohn
Hence, reduce your association with those friends that encourage bad behavior and bad habits.
Replace Bad Habit With Good Ones
Next on how to change your bad habit is replacing them with a good one.
All the bad habits you possess have a benefit it offers to you, even when they are bad.
Some may be to help you cope with stress.
Examples of such are tapping your foot, biting your nails, or clenching your jaw.
However, you can replace such a habit with a more positive one.
Coach yourself by saying this isn’t right for me.
You can as well take a break by going for a walk.
Also, you can develop a plan ahead of time before your bad habit takes place.
This way, you will be able to respond positively when you feel the urge to commit them.
Simply ask yourself what are you going to do when you get the urge to smoke?
Ask yourself what to do when you feel like procrastinating your duties for unnecessary things.
Whatever habit you are dealing with.
Making a plan for them on what you will do instead of doing them will help you replace them.
Also, ensure you remain consistent in the new habit.
Since habit takes repetition to form, the same is required in breaking it.
So, the more consistent you are in practicing a good habit, the quicker it sticks.
Thereby, helping you change your bad habits.
Surround Yourself With Those Who Support And Encourage You
Surrounding yourself with people who support and encourage you on the journey of building a new habit cannot be underestimated.
The quality of your environment determines the level of your success and growth.
So, check out for those you really want to imitate and get influenced by their lifestyle.
You don’t necessarily need to do away with your old friends but creating a little space will go a long way.
When you are around new people who support you, and they practice good behavior and habits, you are more likely to emulate what they do.
This is because we are more susceptible to habit contagion, so you may rapidly pick up someone else’s habit.
This is why you should watch out for those you associate with.
If you want great things to happen to your life, but you are surrounded by those who drag you down, it’s high time you changed them.
It’s time to create another group of people who support you in your decision to change bad habits.
Additionally, positive feedback from them can serve as a great motivating force.
This will help encourage you for your new habit or reminding you of what you need to change.
Consequently helping you effectively change your bad habits.
Take It One Step At A Time
Changing or adapting to the new behavior isn’t what you can achieve overnight.
Most people just want to achieve big changes as quickly as possible.
They want to switch to a healthy diet, attend four gym sessions every week, exercise for 1 hour, and meditate for 20 minutes per day.
This way, it becomes frustrating for them.
When trying to change a bad habit, you don’t expect an automatic change in your habit.
You need to understand that it is one step at a time.
This may sound odd to some of us, however, it’s the truth.
Firstly, you have to start small and commit yourself to the new habit.
Let’s say, for example, you want to practice a good diet and also look fit.
If you eat junk food every day, you can take it one step at a time by reducing it to four or three days a week.
When you can commit yourself to this, you can then reduce the number of days as the week passes by.
Gradually, you will find yourself giving up on junk food for a lesser day and with the time you could find yourself giving it up entirely.
Similarly, when you want to keep fit, you don’t expect to start hitting the gym five times a week.
You also need to start small.
Gradually, you will realize your passion for the gym will increase, then you can also increase it as the day passes.
Lastly, let us say you want to change your habit of not reading.
So, you want to start studying for 2 hours a day.
You also need to take it one step at a time by first making the habit to go for thirty minutes and build on that.
Once you get committed to that, you can then increase the duration as you continue to succeed on your journey of studying.
The bottom line is you have to start small and enjoy the new habit.
When you start small and also commit yourself to this new habit, then your chances of success are increased.
Thereby, helping you change bad habits.
Track Your Progress And Reward Your self
Keeping track of your progress also has a lot to do in changing your bad habits.
This is because things may look amazing at first but with the time you will realize that you will get distracted by a lot of things.
You will also come to know that cultivating the new habit is not so easy.
So, rewarding yourself for each habit you have successfully change will do a lot for you.
Furthermore, celebrating your small wins over your habit will bring you the motivation to achieving bigger ones.
It will also push you toward making the good habit part of your lifestyle.
When you reward yourself for any progress you make, you stimulate the reward circuitry of your brain that gives you a sense of achievement and motivates you to do better.
This, in turn, elevates your self-esteem and also empowers you to take more action to achieve more success in the future.
Consequently, helping you commit to and effectively change your bad habits.
Get An Accountability Partner
Another way you can change from your bad habit is by been accountable to people.
These people could be your friends, family members, workmates, or neighbor.
When you tell them about your goals for changing your bad habit, this will make them watch out for you.
Certainly, it will also increase your likelihood of sticking to the new habit.
Furthermore, regardless of the habit, you want to build, when you tell your friends and family, they will give a hand of support.
For instance, you want to work on your sugar level due to its influence on your belly fat.
Once you tell your friends and family about it, they will try their best in keeping you away from any food that increases your sugar craving.
This will also boost your confidence in achieving your aim in due time.
Next, you can get a friend who is also working on changing his/her bad habit.
This way, both of you will be committed to holding each other accountable.
With this, both of you can challenge each other on who breaks the rule and such a person will pay a fine.
Once this is set up, it will keep you committed to your goals of changing a bad habit.
Consequently, helping you change your bad habit.
Conclusion on How To Change Your Bad Habit
Havings listed all these salient tips on how to change your bad habit.
Kindly follow them by heart and commit yourself to them.
Also, do not forget that you have to take them one step at a time.
Change habits and forming new ones takes time.
It requires commitment, dedication, and patience.
So, keep these tips in mind and you will be on your way to effectively changing your bad habits.
You can also check on other articles attach to this blog post, they are also as useful as this one.
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