You’re welcome to join us! It doesn’t matter if we like it or not we all have plenty of bad behaviors. Simply put the term “habit” is that”habit” is “habit” is an acquired pattern of behavior that is regularly maintained until it is almost involuntary. There are “good” habits, which include exercising, eating nutritious foods, and sleeping 8 hours every day as well as “bad” habits, like watching too much television, nail-biting, or smoking cigarettes. Because of the repeated stimulation of our brains, the habits are difficult to break, particularly when they are linked to a sense of satisfaction or reward psychologically.
What can bad habits break?
To break a habit, it is necessary to alter or remove the trigger and behavior pattern related to it. Most often, a specific trigger triggers the pattern. The trigger may be emotional, such as stress resulting in smoking cigarettes, binge eating, or biting nail-biting. Or it can be situational/environmental: partying with friends results in drinking too much alcohol, getting rowdy, and staying up too late. When these behaviors turn into the norm then it’s time to take the time to think about it and start making positive adjustments.
Also, read: Winning Ways to Strengthen Faith in Yourself
Are you prone to a pattern or habit that you want to change?
What habits do you want to change during the next six weeks? Reduce your list down to two or three habits, and choose the one that is most important to you.
To build and prioritize this list, you must ask yourself:
(1) Is there anything that isn’t right about my behaviors?
(2) What makes them detrimental to my well-being and health?
(3) What are the reasons I should quit doing these things?
Start your first habit and begin working through this procedure.
How do you let go of your habits?
Below is an example of how you can do it.
Pam’s Bad Habit
Pam is a potato chip lover and enjoys eating a large bag of them while watching TV in the evening. She knows that chips are packed with salt and calories. Unfortunately for Pam she’s about over 30 pounds and suffers from hypertension. Her doctor has advised Pam to lose weight and cut down on her salt intake.
(1) Learn to not think negatively about your behavior.
Even when you realize that the habit is not good there are various reasons for continuing to engage in it. Find out what your rationales might be and begin to eliminate any positive feelings about the destructive behavior.
In the beginning, Pam must shift her attention away from the delicious flavor to all the reasons not to eat chips: 1)) the taste doesn’t justify being overweight and unhealthy 2.) eating potato chips won’t fill her up 3.) she is unhappy with herself when she’s finished her bag, and 4) she isn’t happy with her reflection in her mirror.
(2) Find out your triggers for your habit.
What behaviors can trigger your behavior? It can be difficult to pinpoint, especially emotional triggers. However, by identifying the triggers, it is possible to begin to regulate your behavior when it becomes automatic.
Pam’s triggers include eating an assortment of potato chips in her possession and watching television in the evening. Pam is a potato chip eater without even thinking about what she’s doing as it’s an everyday routine for her.
(3) Create a plan of action to alter or alter your patterns of behavior.
The process of breaking a habit requires a lot of work and planning. It is about substitutions: getting rid of bad habits for positive ones. When you are creating an action plan consider which substitutions work best for you.
Pam recognizes that she is unable to consume just one potato chip. In order to follow her path she chooses to continue eating her food while watching TV and to swap lower-calorie and salt-reduced food items such as apples cut into slices or potato chips for the apple slices. In her plan, she’ll look into which alternatives meet her criteria for improving her health and providing the greatest satisfaction.
(4) Take your action steps slowly and with focused intention.
Setting up new and improved habits takes energy and time And breaking old habits can be more challenging. Being patient is the main ingredient to your success. In certain situations, you may want to change your routine to the previous one. In other instances, you might want to concentrate on small steps and gradually make the necessary changes. Whatever you decide to do, be certain that it is logical to you.
Because Pam can’t consume just one chip and is unable to resist all temptations and thus no chips made of potatoes. Another person might be able to manage slowly eating smaller portions of chips (i.e. smaller bags instead of an entire bag) till the pattern is broken.
(5) Keep track of your improvement.
When you begin the process of getting rid of your bad habit, prepare for backups. When you’re having a bad day and fall back and you are unable to stop yourself from beating yourself to death. Learn the reason you went off track, refocus, and return to your path. In certain instances, you might require professional assistance from a doctor or counselor or even a specialized support group like Weight Watchers or Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). When you are working throughout the procedure, it’ll become more manageable.
After this, Pam was able to stop her habit of eating a huge packet of chips made from potatoes each evening. However, this habit was merely a symptom of a greater problem: food addiction/overeating. With small steps, Pam slowly consumed smaller and less food throughout the day and adjusted the type of food she consumes. Pam is active in an organization that focuses on establishing healthy eating habits. In addition, she joins the gym to exercise every three days during the week. Pam is losing weight and feels better about her health and overall well-being. When she let go of one negative behavior, Pam was inspired to move forward towards greater overall health.
