If you are reading this blog, you are probably here because you wish to break away from bad habits. Be it habits like eating unhealthy food, smoking, gambling, etc, or maybe you are here to implement new ones such as exercising regularly, practising mindfulness, etc. No matter what your goal is, this blog will guide you to implement new habits and let go of bad ones.
Bad habits are negative behavioural patterns that can lead to damaging outcomes. They can be developed because of various reasons, namely, being influenced by watching others, being around negative companies, or even through various social media platforms.
To build a healthy lifestyle, it is important to improve the quality of our daily life choices and inculcate better habits. While including good habits we also surround ourselves with positive minds. Hence, in this blog, you will understand practical ways to break your bad habits and implement new ones.
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Why Is It So Difficult To Break Bad Habits?
If you look at anyone trying to make or break a habit, you will notice that they find it difficult.
A bad habit such as smoking is difficult to quit, some common reasons are due to nicotine addiction. On the other hand, someone who is trying to eat healthy food may give into cravings, or may not be able to refuse an offer of their favourite treat. The main reason is because of their habit and lack of self-determination.
A habit is something you do regularly without putting a lot of thought into it. When you keep repeating a habit regularly it becomes a part of a routine, and a routine is difficult to change.
Often, a person who is trying to break or make a habit is advised to have strong willpower, and while this may work for some, not everyone can be strong-willed. Sometimes, even the smallest trigger causes one to give in to their urges.
How To Break A Habit And Create A Healthy One
There are certain steps you can take to break a new habit, these are:
1. Understand Your Triggers
Do you have a trigger or a weak point that makes you fall back into your habits? If so, try to identify it. If you are having a hard time doing so, you can maintain a journal and track your habits. Once you do so, you will be able to understand what makes you go back to your habit.
Try to avoid or minimise these triggers. For example – maybe you give in to smoking when your friend asks you to give him company, or you are not able to refuse the tempting snacks kept in your cupboard. In such situations, cut yourself from such temptation.
2. Identify Your Routine
Try to identify what causes your routine. This is easier compared to the first step. To do this, try to understand the habit. For example – for a smoker, the habit would be to light a cigarette and take a puff, or for someone who likes having unhealthy foods, they may walk up to the pantry for snacks to satisfy their cravings.
Once you have understood the routine, you can try alternatives. For example – if you are a smoker you can chew gum or candy. Many times smokers do not feel like smoking if they have a taste of something. On the other hand, if you wish to eat healthier, you can opt for alternatives. Often, people who wish to leave junk food have the presumption that healthy foods don’t taste great. However, there are many healthy snacking alternatives. For example, instead of chocolate, one could try protein bars, etc.
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3. Identity Your Motivation Behind The Habits
Try to understand why you enjoy the bad habits and what pleasure you get by doing so. Identifying these will help you understand your motive. For example – for a smoker, the motive is to smoke socially, or release stress, and for someone who is trying to eat healthy the motive could be to satisfy the cravings.
To overcome this, you can alternate these motives. For example – instead of smoking you can try to meditate or exercise as it helps release stress. On the other hand, to satisfy your craving, you can try having recipes by substituting ingredients such as pure honey instead of sugar, or almond flour instead of regular flour.
Alternating these motives can help you reduce the urges and help you quit your bad habits completely over time.
4. Reduce The Habit Slowly
Any habit that you stop suddenly has a vast effect on the body as well. The body needs a little time to adjust to major changes and acclimatise accordingly. If you have a habit and you suddenly break it, you can have withdrawal symptoms. Hence, it is important to cut back slowly. Moreover, if you abruptly stop the habit, your urges or cravings can increase over time.
The brain interprets the changes and sends electrical impulses across the body to let it know they are exposed to new stimuli.
5. Avoid Temptations
Temptations are a byproduct of letting your habits lead the day or letting it take over you. To control your temptations you must make yourself busy.
By being busy you are not letting your mind think about that addictive habit, instead, you can focus on building a new healthy habit, for example, meditation or rigorous studies for 3 hours straight or taking up a sport. Eventually, you’ll observe that your days are better without that bad habit.
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Conclusion
Letting go of bad habits is as challenging as building new healthy ones. However, you must let go of such habits because they harm you over time.
When your habit becomes a routine, it becomes challenging to let go. Nonetheless, there are simple steps you can take to overcome your habits and implement new ones such as understanding your triggers, identifying your routine, identifying your motives, reducing the habit slowly, and avoiding temptations.
Apart from these steps, you must have determination and willpower to be able to change habits as it can be quite challenging.