We live by our habits, but not necessarily in a good way.
Of course, you may develop healthy habits like flossing before bed and drinking water throughout the day.
However, we develop unhealthy habits, such as checking social media as soon as we wake up or chewing loudly while eating. It takes time and effort to develop habits.
It is in our best interests to do everything we can to change our bad habits and fill our days with good ones since they control half of our days.
The habit loop
You could still be unable to break a negative habit for good even after putting all of these tactics in place. Become aware of your habit loop and learn to break it that way. A habit loop is broken into three parts:
The cue, or trigger: signals the brain to start the habit. The routine: actual action that’s inspired by the cue. The reward: the outcome you get from the action.
You can learn how to break undesirable behaviours in three different ways by: Recognising your cues, challenging the routine and mixing up the reward each time you break off an unhealthy routine.
- Break bad habits by creating better ones
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The more you try to ignore something, the more you think about it. So, the next time you feel triggered to make a bad habit, try switching the action, not ignore it.
Schedule your new habits
You must give poor habits room in your life if you wish to break them and start forming better ones. You must be deliberate in repeating your new, positive practice until they come naturally. There are various approaches you can take.
You can first arrange your new routines in your calendar. The second strategy is to link your new habit to an existing one.
This suggests that a new good habit can be started by using an existing good habit as a catalyst. You might do this by flossing your new routine after cleaning your teeth (current habit).
Admitting yourself that you desire to develop better behaviours is a great feeling. However, they will stick with you if you are clear about when and how.
Use a commitment device\ tracking journal
The hardest part of quitting harmful habits is that we frequently try to do them alone.
Perhaps we don’t want to be embarrassed or admit we forget. But this is an error. The truth is we do better at altering our behaviours and maintaining them when external factors make us responsible.
To hold yourself accountable while trying to break a harmful habit, keep track and commit.
Join in the celebration of your successes and offer encouragement when you falter.
A programme like the RescueTime App can help you take responsibility for your online activities.
RescueTime can detect when you are straying from your new routines by properly tracking how you spend your time
For instance, you can set a RescueTime Alert to notify you when you have spent 30 minutes or more every day on social media if you want to develop the habit of spending less time on your phone applications.
To maintain each habit, set reminders or write it down. Visualise the progression of your routine in figures and charts, and put a password\ lock to protect your habits.
Use the word “but” to overcome negative self–talk
It is easy to blame yourself for not acting better while trying to break a harmful routine. It's simple to remind yourself how terrible you are every time you make a mistake or mess up.
When it occurs, put “but” in your statement.
“I am fat and out of shape, but I could be in shape a few months from now”, or
“I am a failure, but everybody fails sometimes”.
Be prepared to fail. We all make mistakes occasionally. So, instead of punishing yourself for a lapse, prepare for it.
We all veer off, what sets great achievers apart from everyone else is how we return to it.
You do not need to be someone else
We frequently believe that we have to change completely to break harmful behaviours.
We already possess the capacity to be someone free of negative habits. It’s improbable that you have been a lifetime slave to these poor behaviours.
Simply go back to the old habit, there is no need to completely stop. You just need to get back to being healthy, not change into a healthier version of yourself.
Even if it was years ago, you have already lived without this harmful habit, so you can likely do it again.
Visualise yourself succeeding
Visualise yourself quitting smoking, purchasing wholesome foods, or waking up early.
Whatever the bad habit you want to stop, picture yourself succeeding at it, grinning, and having a good time. Imagine creating a new persona for yourself.
