3 Simple Ways To Break Bad Habits
Often, we don’t need to create good habits, we need to break bad ones.
The process of breaking habits can be extremely daunting.
Especially when we have repeatedly been practicing this habit for many years.
If you watched the last 5 years of your life you would find that nearly everything you do is a result of your habits. Habits make up who we are, so it would naturally be a good thing if we eliminated the bad habits. So, there are three easy methods to break your bad habits.
- Identify Triggers and Replace the Habit
- Practice Mindfulness and Self-Awareness
- Implement a Habit Replacement Plan
These three simple methods have helped me quit some of my worst habits, and they can do the same for you.
- Identify Triggers and Replace the Habit
The first step in breaking a bad habit is to identify the triggers of the habit.
All of our actions are because of something else. You eat when you feel hungry, you drink when you feel thirsty, you brush your teeth after you wake up, etc. Your actions or habits boil down to specific triggers that cause them to happen.
The first way to break bad habits is to identify what causes them. You have to look for the important situational, emotional, or environmental cues that trigger a habit.
And then you replace them.
You replace the cue for a bad habit with the cue for a positive habit.
If lying on your bed causes you to start scrolling on your phone, then don’t lie on your bed in the first place. Instead, sit at your desk and draw. Or, sit on a comfy chair and pick up a book.
The point is to identify and remove the trigger for the bad habit, and then replace the bad habit with a positive habit.
- Practice Mindfulness and Self-Awareness
In short, mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present.
Mindfulness is all about reflecting on your life, finding peace, and finding a way to improve yourself. This is very effective for trying to replace bad habits.
You don’t need to do a 30 min meditation session every day.
You just need to focus on your bad habit and find the trigger for it.
Ask yourself why you are doing it and what emotions or thoughts are driving the habit. By increasing your self-awareness, you can catch yourself before the habit takes over and make a conscious decision to avoid it.
By being mindful you can stay focused on the present and on changes that you want to make.
- Implement a Habit Replacement Plan
A plan is the easiest way to take action.
When you have the steps to change laid out in front of you, then all you have to do is follow them.
Here are 4 steps to create a plan to break any habit.
a. Create an Actionable Plan
Develop a clear and actionable plan for when the cue occurs.
For instance, if stress triggers the bad habit of stress-eating, plan to engage in a five-minute breathing exercise or take a short walk outside whenever you feel stressed.
b. Monitor Your Progress
Keep track of your efforts and progress.
Monitoring your progress can provide motivation and reinforce your commitment to the new behavior.
c. Practice Consistency
Be consistent with implementing the habit replacement plan.
Repetition is crucial for forming new habits and weakening the old ones. Over time, the positive replacement behavior will become more automatic.
d. Be Kind to Yourself
Be patient and compassionate with yourself during the process.
Breaking bad habits can be challenging, and setbacks are normal. If you slip up, acknowledge it, learn from it, and recommit to your habit replacement plan.
Humans are creatures of habit.
So, if we want to change then we should change our habits.
