To break a bad habit is to start doing things that don’t encourage, or lead to the habit you want to break. However, it may be hard to do so, why? because habits are routines done so often, and consistently in response to specific cues or situations. They are routines or practices that become ingrained in our daily lives, often operating outside our conscious minds. They’re things that you’ve gotten so used to, that it can be hard to break.
Therefore, if they are bad habits, they can reduce your quality of life, and the same goes for good habits. If you form good habits, it’ll increase your quality of life.
Key takeaway
A habit can be broken or built, regardless of how difficult it may seem. You just have to change the game, and set the rules. The first thing you can do, to break a bad habit, is to start practicing good habits. Since habits are things that you form over time, you can also form new and better ones.
So, how do you break a bad habit?
1 . Avoid distractions
Let’s say you’re someone who procrastinates a lot, procrastination is a form of habit. When you procrastinate, you hardly get things done, and realize time has passed you by. Certain things can encourage procrastination, it could be:
- Sleeping
- Watching movies
- Eating
- Chit chatting
- Social media
When you understand the things that easily make you procrastinate, you avoid them until you have done what you need to do. For example, if you have homework from school, don’t pick up your phone, don’t turn on the TV, don’t go outside to play. Instead, sit still for 5 minutes, then pick up your homework, till it’s done. It might seem silly, but you will realize how being by yourself, and thinking about the task at hand can help. Then before you know it, you’re done with the project at hand. But if you prioritize the fun, you will end up procrastinating.
“Oh no it’s already 2 o clock and I haven’t done it yet, okay in 20 minutes I’ll go”
The same can be done in days, weeks, months and even years, that’s how dangerous procrastination is. Avoid distractions, until what needs to be done is done.
2 . Start small
It’s not going to be easy to just stop doing something, especially when it’s something you’ve been doing for so long. Or all your life. So, you can start small, by gradually reducing or replacing the bad habit. For example, if you tend to sit a lot; and live a sedentary lifestyle, start small by doing things that are opposite. Such as standing when you’re watching TV, having a phone call, playing games, or using your phone or computer. Little by little begin to infuse a better habit, so in time, you will gradually break the bad habit. Don’t rush the process, just practice a good habit, and you will finally break a bad habit.
3 . Set clear goals
Setting goals to break a habit is another way to improve your chances of breaking a bad habit. Firstly, identify your objective; what you want to achieve, assess why this goal is important to you, and know the requirements and potential obstacles.
If your goal is to spend less money in a week, your objective is to “save more money this week”
Assessing your goals is to understand the use of saving more money this week, it could be that you want to have more money at the end of the month.
Understanding the requirements and potential obstacles will make you prepare better. Requirements will be to “not indulge in shopping sprees” and “have a closed budget for each shopping list”. The obstacles you could face is temptation to indulge in cravings, or to buy one more thing”. Which will be things that aren’t as important, but you still want to have them. So, when you understand that setting goals isn’t the only thing you need, but understanding your WHY, and learning discipline is what will make or break a bad habit.
4 . Identify triggers
Many things can trigger a person’s bad habit. Understand situations, emotions, or people that trigger your bad habit. If you have a friend who smokes, and you’re trying to quit smoking, hanging around them wouldn’t make it easy to quit. And in this case, your friend is a trigger.
While you don’t have to eliminate friendships, or cut ties with others, that you care about, create boundaries. Respect yourself by maintaining proper boundaries with them, and communicating your goals. They should be able to respect your choice and respect your boundaries. For example, if your friend smokes, and you’re trying to quit, they shouldn’t smoke when you’re hanging out together. It can also help to limit the time you spend with these friends or family members. As it is for the best, and for them not to find it a burden when they’re with you.
Keep in mind that keeping your distance can cause a rift between you, and your friends or family members. But to break a bad habit, a lot of things will need to change.
In a case where you want to break the habit of eating sugary foods, you also need to avoid triggers. Say, you go to the grocery store, avoid going to sections where they sell sugary foods. But where they have healthier options. Although some stores can have some sections of foods close to each other, you can still apply the same principle.
5 . Find better alternatives
To find alternatives to a bad habit, start by understanding why you do it. What need or feeling does the habit satisfy? What is there to gain from it?
For example, if you have a habit of procrastinating, it may be because you are avoiding stress or are feeling overwhelmed. The moment you know the purpose, start thinking of better ways to address the same need. Ask yourself: “What other way can I feel less stressed or more focused?” “Is procrastination a good idea” When you ask yourself this question, it’ll help you see the need to find better alternatives to dealing with issues.
Consider alternatives that are realistic and effective at the same time. For example, instead of choosing to procrastinate when it’s time to do the laundry, you could break it in chunks, take regular breaks, or practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing.
How to form healthier routines and break a bad habit
You can break a bad habit but you can also create a good habit. To make it easier to break a bad habit, you need to create healthier routines. When you have healthy routines, it creates less room for bad habits. Start by planning and scheduling healthy habits, such as exercising, meditating, and mindful eating. If you’re used to scrolling mindlessly on social media, you can form new routines instead. So, instead of spending hours on social media, make a daily routine of reading books, drawing, writing, cleaning, or decluttering. It’s important to add a new habit to create healthier routines. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, make it a habit of walking, indoors or outdoors. It will make a lot of difference, and improve your quality of life.
However, some things are important to know:
- focus on one habit at a time
- Be patient and consistent
- Leverage technology (apps, and reminders)
- Forgive yourself for setbacks and aim to do better
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