Stopping bad habits
Everyone has habits and many can be very useful in our day to day lives. However, most of us have a few habits we consider to be bad and would like to change. A bad habit might be anything from smoking or drinking too much, to spending too much time on your phone or oversleeping.
Since habits can take practice and repetition to form, the same is true when it comes to breaking them. Habits aren’t always easy to break. They can often be harder to break if you enjoy them, however it is possible.
Check out these strategies to help you on your way.
Replace the habit
Research has shown that replacing a bad habit with a new habit that provides a similar benefit can be an effective way to break a bad habit. For example, grab a fidget toy instead of biting your nails, or go for a walk around the block instead of smoking a cigarette.
It’s usually very unrealistic to simply cut out a bad habit without replacing it, as it can leave certain needs unmet. So it can certainly help if you can replace a bad habit with a better alternative.
Know your triggers
It’s very important to understand your behaviour if you want to change it. Use a notepad and track your habit for a few days or weeks and look for any patterns and triggers, and use this awareness to assist in making change.
If it’s possible, you should take steps to alter your patterns and remove your triggers. For example, if you eat ice cream when the kids go to bed, then don’t buy ice cream. If you sit and watch TV instead of exercising, then hide the TV remote, which will make it harder to follow the pattern. trying to break the habit of stopping off at a coffee shop each morning, then drive an alternate route to work to avoid the pattern.
If stress is the trigger for your bad habits, then look at addressing the reason or source of the stress and either avoid it or change your behaviour around the stress.
Make it easier on yourself to break bad habits by avoiding the things that cause them. Essentially if your environment can make a bad habit easier to emerge then you should try to change the environment to manage the habit.
Know the benefits
Research suggests that it may be easier to change behaviour when the change you want to make is more valuable or beneficial to you, than the current behaviour.
Take time to identify why you want to break a habit and what the benefits are from this change. Listing these benefits can also help, especially if you refer to them regularly.
Having a list of benefits can also assist if you happen to fall back into old habits – it will remind you of your purpose and remind you why you want to keep trying.
Eventually, after you see rewards from the new habit, the urge to keep doing the good habit might outweigh the need to pursue the old habit.
Ask for help
It’s easier to break a bad habit if you have the help and support of those around you. This could mean asking family and friends to be on board to support breaking the bad habit with you. Telling people around you of your plan and asking them to be supportive can re-inforce your commitment. Depending on the circumstances, you could ask them not engage in that activity around you. You can even ask for encouragement when needed, reminding you if they notice you slipping back into old habits.
You can also try to seek out new and like-minded people who live the way you want to live.
For example, going online and finding people who have successfully conquered your habits via online forums can also be very helpful.
Asking for help is especially important for the more complex habits such as eating issues, addiction and self-destructive behaviour. Working through these bigger issues alone can be tough, so it is advised to seek professional help for expert guidance and support.
Persevere
Commit to breaking your habit over the long term and expect some slip-ups. Experts believe it takes approximately 10 weeks or 2-3 months to break an unwanted habit. This will no doubt differ depending on what the habit is, some taking longer, some taking less. The amount of time it takes to break a bad habit can depend on many things including how long you have had the habit, what the need that the habit fulfils (i.e. emotional, physical, or social), whether you have support or not, the physical or emotional reward the habit provides and more. So keep trying and allow for the habit to take time to change.
Timing
Many people find it easier to create positive changes in life when they begin from a place of wellness. If you are currently dealing with other challenges and stress, such as work, relationships or health then trying to break a habit can sometimes lead to more distress than the actual habit. Hence why you should pick the right time to break your habit to increase your chances of success.
It’s also important to consider changing one habit at a time, and not take on too many changes at once. Unless of course there are related bad habits such as drinking and smoking and you only do one with the other, quitting both at the same time may make the most sense. Otherwise it is suggested to change one habit at a time.
Visualise success
Visualise yourself kicking your bad habit, whether that be throwing away cigarettes or buying health food or picking up a fidget toy instead of biting your nails. Whatever the bad habit is, visualise yourself practicing alternate behaviour in the situation instead of the bad habit. Visualise your success and yourself happy and smiling with you new and better habit(s).
Allow for failure
Allow for failure when trying to break your bad habits. We all slip up every now and then, so allow for it and be kind to yourself when this occurs, don’t feel guilty.
We all lose our focus, however getting your focus back quickly is the best way to get back on track to changing your habit. Remember breaking a habit can be challenging, and slipping back into old habits can be easy too. Some habits are easier than others to change. Try to learn from your slip ups and don’t punish yourself.
Let go of the all-or-nothing mindset and accept that you will probably slip up a few times.
Motivate yourself
When trying to break a bad habit, it can be helpful to have a plan and motivate yourself along the way. How you do this will differ for every habit. You may choose a step by step process for change and tick off your steps as you go, as a form of motivation.
For example, you could leave yourself visual reminders in relevant places, such as sticky notes on the fridge or biscuit jar to remind you to stop snacking after dinner. Or setting regular reminders on your phone, as an alarm, throughout the day to remind you to drink more water or a positive note on your bedside table to congratulate you for not sleeping in.
You could even reward yourself to encourage your process of making change as you meet set goals. If you have saved money, time or energy from dropping your bad habit, use this to reward yourself. Regular treats can motivate you to keep on track and work towards success.
However, you decide to motivate yourself, set a goal and date to accomplish it, and track your progress as you go.
Breaking bad habits takes time, effort and perseverance. Most people who end up breaking bad habits try and fail multiple times before they make it work. You might not have success right away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have it. Focus on why you want to change and use the above tips and over time, your new habits can become as established and natural as your old habits.
Source:
au.reachout.com/articles/7-strategies-for-breaking-a-bad-habit
www.healthline.com/health/how-to-break-a-habit#get-support
