Do you talk over people during conversations?
Do you bite your nails when you are nervous?
Do you drink like a fish or pop pills like a pharmacist?
Have you ever told a lie to get a point across?
Have you ever ignored the people you were with for a better conversation with someone on your cell phone?
Has your recent predicament made you so worried that you can’t focus on anything?
Good, you are human. Each and every person on this earth has habits
rather good or bad. There are just some things that we tend to do
automatically. They have become so repetitive that they almost seem
natural.
Habits are inherently neutral but speaking for myself I seem to
have more bad ones than good and I think I would greatly benefit from
turning the tables. So how do you break bad habits?
WHAT IS A HABIT?
Now in order to break a bad habit you must have a clear understanding
of what a habit is. Habits are behaviors that are repeated
automatically without any thought or intent. They are so routine that
they happen subconsciously. Many of them are created by repetition of a
reaction to a specific situation or a measurable amount of positive
stimuli.
We all have habits, good and bad, that effect how we respond in
various situations. Take me for example. Whenever I get a chance to
watch my favorite show Man vs. Wild I must have an ice cold glass of
milk and Oreos. That is my good habit. J My bad habit is throwing my
dirty clothes on a recliner chair in our bedroom that drives my wife
nuts. She thinks we should use the chair for sitting. I use it as a
dirty clothes hamper. We have agreed to disagree.
THE STEPS
In an attempt to stay married, for at least another year, I have
decided it would be best to get rid of my unproductive habit. Here are a
few steps that I have taken on my long road to self improvement that I
think will help you as well. Some are easier than others. Good Luck.
Step One
Recognize your habits
You might not notice that every word that comes out of your mouth is
negative. Maybe your compulsive drinking habit doesn’t bother you at
all. The nature of habits makes them sometimes difficult to detect. They
happen on a subconscious level. So if you don’t have your wife
screaming at you to stop leaving your clothes in the chair they may
require some personal reflecting to identify them. Others may stick out
like a person wearing a ‘Go Lebron’ t-shirt at a Cleveland Cavaliers
game. Take some time and examine yourself to recognize you habits, good
and bad.
Step Two
Replace bad habits with a positive alternative
In my own progression towards becoming a better me and avoiding
annoying my wife I have decided to put my dirty clothes in the – wait
for it – dirty clothes hamper. This has done some amazing things at my
home.
For one I don’t have to get screamed at for throwing my clothes in
the chair. Secondly I have a comfy chair to drink my ice cold milk and
eat Oreos in. It was win-win scenario.
It is best to select an alternative that will have benefits that are
apparent and numerous. This will help you maintain the momentum and
create a good habit instead of a bad one.
Ex: If you sit in a chair and eat Oreos while watching TV it might be
better to run on a treadmill while you watch TV and eat you Oreos. By
using this technique you will burn the calories that you gain from
eating cookies and improve your endurance for other things.
Step Three
Focus on the positive alternative instead of avoiding the negative one.
Spend your energy and focus on creating positive habits that will
benefit you. I don’t know about you but when I try to avoid something
intentionally I usually end up doing it because it is always on mind.
Alter your focus on modeling good behaviors. In my situation I started
by trying to avoid throwing my belongings in the chair. Now I try to
make sure I clean up the room every night before I go to bed. Guess what
happens when I clean up? The chair often ends up empty until Man vs.
Wild comes on.
Bad habits can be broken and good ones acquired but they require the
same amount of repetition and consistency that you put in the negative
ones. I hear it only takes 21 days to form a habit. I will let you know I
am on day 2.
Now it is your turn. I am looking for some help on
breaking a bad habit. Share your thoughts and links below I can’t wait
to read them.
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