Whether it is not getting any exercise, eating too much unhealthy food or smoking, there are all sorts of habits out there which can be detrimental to your physical and mental wellbeing. Breaking a bad habit is not easy, but it can be done – you just need to know the best way to go about it. The cause of bad habits can generally be boiled down to a couple of main triggers. The first is stress. For example, you may well use drinking a couple of glasses of wine after a long day as a coping mechanism. Another one is boredom. You may well be looking for an escape from your regular life. Of course, these are only the surface problems, and there may well be some issues which go deeper that you need to address. Here are a few steps to help you deal better and even break your bad habits.
Choose a Substitute
Going cold turkey is rarely something that works, and most people need to choose some sort of substitute to replace their bad habit. So, if your issue is smoking, you need to look into how to cut back, and reduce your habit, until you can stop. If it is unhealthy snacking, you could look to snack at the same times but with healthier options. You need to have a clear plan of action for what you are going to do when the cravings start kicking in.
Cut Out the Common Triggers
The last thing that you want to do is put yourself in the way of temptation. For example, if you have an issue with drinking too much alcohol, you could avoid going to social events where you know it will be served or suggest an alternative activity. If you eat cookies or chocolate the moment you step through the front door, you should make sure that none of these substances are readily available. If your environment makes it easier to continue with bad habits, it is time to change that environment.
Join Forces with a Friend
The old saying: there’s strength in numbers is certainly the case when you are trying to beat a bad habit. When you are trying to do things all by yourself, you don’t have anyone else to hold you accountable. Ideally, you will know someone who is trying to deal with the same bad habit as yourself. This way, you can pick each other up when you are struggling and encourage the other one not to give up. Having the expectations of someone else on your back can be a strong motivating factor.
Visualise Yourself Succeeding
If you have never tried visualisation before, it can be a very powerful technique which you may well find to be beneficial. Basically, you need to envisage yourself kicking your bad habit for good and the benefits it will bring you in the future. Perhaps you want to live a less sedentary lifestyle and you eventually see yourself completing a marathon. It could be that you want to break your addiction to technology and you imagine all the things that you could do with all the time that you now have on your hands.
Remember You Don’t Need to Become a New Person
Just because you are wanting to break your bad habits, it doesn’t mean that you have to become an entirely new person. In the past, you have already been someone who doesn’t have your bad habits – you just need to return to being this person once again. Tell yourself that you have lived comfortably without this habit being in your life before and you can do it again.
Don’t Get Overcome by Negativity
When you are trying to battle bad habits, it is easy to become overly negative if you happen to slip up along the way. Being too hard on yourself is unlikely to be a technique which helps you to succeed in the long term. Pick yourself up off the ground and tell yourself that you have had a bump along the way, but that doesn’t mean that you are going to give up. You can always bounce back, and the quicker you do this, the better.
So, hopefully, the advice in this article makes you feel like you are ready to deal with bad health habits that little bit better. Ultimately, it is all about assessing the problem that you have and breaking it down into stages. Keep determined and strong along the way no matter what happens.