How to Quit Bad Habits – A Practical Guide
We human beings often tend to enjoy things that aren’t good for us both mentally and physically. While the majority of us acknowledge this, most of the time we don’t know how to quit bad habits.
For every bad habit, there is a part that makes us think it’s good for us. For instance, we all know smoking is bad for us. But for a smoker, it’s easy to justify why they smoke. Nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine which makes the smoker feel good and reduces stress. This could easily be seen as a good thing about smoking.
What causes bad habits?
Most bad habits stem from stress or boredom. It is a way our mind tries to escape from the feelings that arise from these. By having some sort of an external stimuli to focus on instead of the undesirable feelings that come with stress or boredom, we are able to escape them.
For instance, when you are bored, an activity like excessive consumption of social media or entertainment can help you ease down those feelings. When you’re stressed about something, one of the easiest ways to escape is eating some junk food or for smokers, lighting that cigarette. This is not good for us but can be hard to identify or stop while it’s happening at that moment.
What are the signs of a bad habit?
You know something is bad when you feel like you have no control over not doing it. Another sign is you have started to do it more often than not. Another easy way to to know a bad habit is if it is causing harm to yourself or others.
If you start feeling like you do not know what to do to quit something, this could also be another sign that it is not good for you. There are many more signs of bad habits such as things that add no value to your life and things that you do to distract yourself from something.
The most important thing is to be aware when something is bad for you and learn how to quit bad habits.
Things you can do to quit bad habits.
1. Find a reason why you want to change
This is the most important step in quitting bad habits. If you don’t have a very convincing reason to change something, chances are it will never happen. Think about all the things that you do that are bad for you which have become a habit, and think of a solid reason to let go of all those habits one by one.
2. Figure out the triggers – Both internal and external
The next step is to figure out the triggers that remind you to do these behaviors. For example, your morning cup of coffee could tell your mind that it’s time to light that cigarette. Watching a movie at home could remind you to get some junk food. Hanging out with a specific group of people can remind you to have a drink etc.
While figuring out the triggers doesn’t itself help you quit bad habits, it can be a great start to bring more awareness into your actions leading to the right steps to ultimately quitting them.
3. Start with small steps instead of going cold turkey
Once you start becoming more aware of the triggers, now it’s time to start taking baby steps. An example would be whenever you feel like having a cigarette, instead of stopping yourself from smoking every time you could set a limit.
For the first week, you could try having a smoke every other time you have the craving. So that means if you smoke once, then the second time instead of lighting that cigarette, think about why it’s bad for you and hang in without giving into it. Little by little your will power will get stronger and your mindset will start to transform.
4. Replace the bad habit with another activity or behavior
When trying to quit bad habits, remember that you developed those bad habits in the first place for a reason. It did cater for some needs you have. It could be physical or mental. For example you ate unhealthy foods to cater for hunger. You smoked cigarettes to avoid feeling stressed etc.
Hence, you still need to fulfill these needs you have, but this time around you’re choosing to cater for it in an alternative and healthier way. If you feel like snacking when watching a movie, have some fruits or nuts that give you nutrition and energy. Instead of having a soda with your meal, opt in for a fresh juice. When you have the urge to smoke, take some deep breaths and drink some water and hang in for a bit until you see the urge losing its power over you.
5. Accept that there will be ups and downs
One of the most important things you need to keep in mind when you try to quit bad habits is that it’s never a straight line. Some days, you will be able to keep up with your progress while other days you give in and take a step back. And that’s totally okay. We are all human and we will always make mistakes and fall behind.
The difference between success and failure is, with success you found ways to get back up whenever you fell short and never stayed down. Develop this mindset early on and I assure you you can quit any bad habit that you really want to quit.
I know it’s easier to just not tell anyone and show it to them once done. But when it comes to quitting bad habits, it can be extremely helpful to find a buddy who is trying to do something similar or share with a close friend or family member who will keep you accountable whenever you lose track and give in to your cravings.
7. Visualize yourself doing the new activities
Manifestation is real and I have seen it work countless times in my own life and from people close to me. When trying to quit bad habits, take the time to think about or visualize and see yourself already not having that cigarette, eating healthy foods and doing what’s best for yourself mentally and physically.
Be as specific as possible and try to visualize yourself doing exactly the alternative behavior you are trying to replace your bad habit with. If you can see it, you can achieve it.
8. Don’t stop trying until you succeed
No matter how long it takes, don’t give up until you quit the bad habit that you wanted to quit. It could take you a month, or it could take you years. Someone else could have done it in much less time than you have already taken, it does not matter.
Take as much time as you need to take, but just don’t give up. If you are consistent with your efforts, success is inevitable.
What do you do with this information?
So now that you know so much about how to quit bad habits, where do you go from here? My suggestion is to spend the first few days doing some soul searching and look for the reasons you want to quit the bad habits you have.
Next thing is to observe triggers, take note of these and accept what you have is a problem that needs to change. Once you’ve done that, follow the above steps and start implementing those strategies in a systematic and achievable way.
And then comes the most important thing, no matter how many times you fail, keep trying. The only thing that’s in the way of you quitting those bad habits is your mindset and will power.
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