3 Ways to Get Rid of Bad Habits

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Let's face it, each of us has bad habits. Maybe we bite our nails or snap our fingers. Some of us often interrupt other people or procrastinate. All these annoying habits are hard to break. But don't be afraid! This article will teach you how. Keep reading!

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Part One: Changing Your Mindset

Step 1. Take full responsibility for your actions

You are the king of your actions - no one else besides you is responsible for what you do. When you decide to drive after drinking too much, it is your decision. In some ways, it may be more convenient than taking a bus or calling a taxi, but it's still your decision. Whether you like it or not, you will have to be accountable for your decisions sooner or later.

• Realizing that you are solely responsible for your actions can make you feel overwhelmed or paralyzed in the beginning. You will begin to understand that every action has repercussions, and that these consequences are very different from what you might have imagined when you took action. It is a scary thought.
• Ultimately though, being fully responsible for your actions will make you feel more powerful. You will understand that you are the architect of your own destiny. Within some standards, no one can tell you what to do. This means being free. You will begin to understand that habits can be chains, and that breaking them will free you.

Step 2. Start evaluating the consequences and benefits of your habits

Make a simple list of the pros and cons of what a habit gives you. Try to be brutally honest with yourself. You can do it. For example, here is a list of pros and cons of smoking:

• Pros:

  • Feeling of calm and energy due to nicotine
  • Help with short-term stress
  • Opportunity to break the ice in social situations
  • Aesthetic value

• Against:

  • Numerous and serious long-term health problems
  • Addiction in a short time
  • Cost
  • In case of abuse it can shorten my life by many years.

  

  Step 3. Start comparing the short-term benefits with the long-term consequences

  Usually, we justify a habit that we recognize as bad because we place disproportionate value on the immediate benefits over its long-term effects. And this is because we cannot see the long-term effects - they are distant in the future, difficult to judge and in some cases uncertain. It is much easier to see and feel the short-term benefits.

  Let's take those who skip breakfast as an example. If you are trying to lose weight, you may be able to convince yourself to do it. In the short term, you may lose a few pounds and feel better about your body. But in the long run, those pounds will likely come back (because you're not following a proper diet), and you'd be setting the stage for an eating disorder

  

  Step 4. Try to break only one bad habit at a time

  You may feel powerful at the idea of breaking all your bad habits - and that's a good thing! But don't put the cart before the horse. Start with just one habit. Trying to break them all together can be really too demanding; it is better to take the time and break them permanently than to speed up the process without achieving any lasting results.

  

  Step 5. Don't take small steps back too seriously

  If you happen to lose your way and accidentally commit your bad habit, don't lose hope. Get up on your feet and resume your commitment. Backsliding can happen - pretending it isn't is just a lack of honesty. Instead, try to learn from your mistakes to make sure they don't happen again.

  Method 2 of 3: Part Two: Breaking the Habit

  

  Step 1. Start taking note of when you happen to practice the habit

  Keep a journal handy and write down every time you snap your fingers, clear your throat, or light a cigarette, for example. Take note of the day, time and situation.

  • Pay attention to the triggers you may notice. For example, you may notice that you have a tendency to smoke when you are with a certain person and after you have had a little drink. These are triggers.
  • In the person's example, if you really want to solve your problem, you should talk to them. Say something like, "Hi, I'm seriously trying to stop doing this. Next time I try to snatch a cigarette, could you remind me of this conversation?" Who knows - your friend could avoid smoking in front of you altogether!

  

  Step 2. As much as possible, try to avoid situations where your trigger is most likely to be encountered

  Some people have a habit of eating when they get bored. They love food and don't like boredom, so it seems like a natural solution. The trigger for this habit is obviously boredom. Keeping your mind busy and your hands busy are ways to solve this problem.

  

  Step 3. Try to replace bad habits with healthier ones

  Many longtime smokers, for example, break their habit by substituting baby carrots for cigarettes. And there's a good reason: Scientists have found that people who eat more vegetables smoke less throughout the day and are able to quit more easily.

  • If you bite your nails, try switching to chewing gum.
  • If you snap your fingers, try to keep your hands busy with a stress ball or draw pictures.
  • Use creativity to choose your replacement business. You never know if something will work until you try it.

  

  Step 4. Condition yourself so that you don't like the bad habit

  The following technique is similar to Pavlov's dog experiment in that it involves associating a bad habit with a negative emotion or physical stimulus. Try wearing an elastic band on your wrist. Whenever you find yourself making a habit to avoid, pull on the elastic band to give yourself an annoying pinch on the wrist. You should start associating the bad habit with a feeling of discomfort and have a new physiological reason to quit!

  

  Step 5. Find better alternatives that allow you to receive the same benefits

  Bad habits give us a reward. We may not fully understand what these are, but it is why we practice them. Try to identify the benefit you derive from the bad habit and find a better way to achieve the same result.

  Smokers, for example, often manage to do this with e-cigarettes or nicotine gum. While neither of these alternatives are risk-free, both are certainly better than the original habit

  

  Step 6. Try to make a commitment to another person

  Tell your friends that you want to stop drinking. Great - you just made a commitment! Give $ 100 to your best friend and ask him to keep it until you get over your habit. Another commitment! Men are social animals, and they care what other men think of them. If we make a promise to another person, we want to keep it. Making a commitment to someone will propel you to success with a healthy amount of pressure and urgency.

  

  Step 7. Break your timeline into easy-to-manage periods

  Set evaluation times after 30, 90 and 365 days to celebrate your success. For example, if you reach 30 days of sobriety, remember that you have overcome the hardest part. If you reach 90 days you will have done an incredible job. After a year, the effort is practically over. Remain cautious but be proud of your progress.

  Method 3 of 3: Part Three: Overcoming Specific Habits

  

  Step 1. Learn how to quit smoking

  Worldwide, it is estimated that 5 million deaths from smoking are per year. It is one of the worst bad habits that people can hardly overcome. Nonetheless, there are options:

  • Quit smoking with willpower alone
  • Stop smoking thanks to the electronic cigarette
  • Choose a program that can help you
  • Quit smoking with the help of caffeine

  

  Step 2. Learn to control your excessive alcohol consumption

  Once in a while, a glass or two doesn't hurt. In fact, some studies show that, in moderation, alcohol can be good for your health. But too many of us lose control when we drink. Again there are options!

  • Stop drinking with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Learn to drink responsibly
  • Learn to stay sober
  • Find out if you drink too much alcohol

  

  Step 3. Stop snapping your fingers

  This habit does not pose a great health risk, but it is something annoying that you would rather not do. There are methods that can help you not snap your fingers without thinking!

  

  Step 4. Make an effort to stop procrastinating

  Procrastination can become an addiction for many people, especially those who have been successful in procrastinating in the past. The truth is that from work you get what you give; Doing the bare minimum to fool your teacher may work in high school, but it will cause you problems later in life.

  

  Step 5. Stop biting your nails

  From nail polishes to patches, there are hundreds of innovative ways to keep your fingers away from your mouth.

  

  Step 6. Stop chewing with your mouth open

  Nobody ever told you not to do it when you were a child and now you find yourself with this bad habit. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid chewing like a ruminant and start chewing like a respectable person.

  

  Step 7. Stop watching TV so much

  They say TV can fry your brain, but it's hard to believe. Much more acceptable is the idea that TV doesn't give you lasting happiness. How many deathbed people have regretted not seeing enough TV? On the contrary, how many regret not having traveled more, not having said I love you more often or having spent more time with their children?

  

  Step 8. Overcome your compulsive need to lie

  It has become so easy for you that it is now second nature: you lie on any occasion, for no particular reason, and even after you promise not to lie. Compulsive lying can destroy a relationship. Fix this problem now before it's too late.

  Advice

  • be patient. You can't break a habit overnight! These are behaviors so automatic that you may not even realize you are doing them!
  • Think positive, and praise yourself when you get a result!
  • Pretend the person you like is watching you. Would you eat your nails or snap your fingers in the presence of that special someone?
  • Get help from other people. Tell them what they can do to help you. This will make it easier for you to achieve your goals.
  • Be kind to yourself. Getting down on yourself because you can't beat the habit is not helpful to you.
  • Read up on your habit. Knowing the real consequences of your habit can help you break it. You can find this information on many sites, for example Wikipedia. In this way you will also be able to clarify and observe the problem from a broader perspective, with its pros and cons.
  • Depending on the severity of your habit, you may need professional help.