8 Tips And Tricks To Break A Bad Habit

At some point in our lives, we’ve all had bad habits. Some of us probably have bad habits right now.

Whether it’s midnight snacking, nail biting, compulsive shopping, smoking or drinking, everyone deals with it at some point in their lives. Breaking these habits can be hard work, sometimes harder than people are ready to deal with. But, it’s definitely not impossible.

Here are a few tips and ideas about how you can get rid of your bad habit, whatever it might be.

1. Think About What Causes It

The very first step in breaking a bad habit, before anything else, is to figure out why you do it. Think of the events, actions and behaviours that lead up to you doing the thing you want to change. For most people, stress and boredom will pay a pretty big part in their bad habits. People bite their nails and smoke when they’re stressed, they shop excessively or eat unnecessarily when they’re bored. Figure out what causes you to do it, and you’ll be one step closer to stopping.

2. Track It For A Week

Denial can play a big part in stopping people with bad habits from really acknowledging that they have a problem and need to stop. You can avoid this by taking a week to track your bad habit before you attempt to break it. Just carry a small piece of paper around with you and every time you go to start your habit or you do your habit (whatever it is) make a tally. At the end of the week, count it up and you’ll see why you need to break your bad habit.

3. Substitute It With Something Else

People often think that they can just stop doing something that is considered to be a bad habit. In fact that isn’t how bad habits work. You don’t stop the habit, you just replace it with something else. If you aren’t aware of this, what you replace it with could be something equally bad. This is the reason that people who stop smoking often gain weight, as they replace their cigarette habit with a food habit. Think of something healthy that you can do to replace your bad habit that offers similar benefits to you. Bad habits address a need in your life, so your replacement habit must fill the same need.

4. Get Rid Of The Triggers

Once you have a good idea of what sets your bad habit off, it’s time to cut out as many of those triggers as possible. So if you smoke when you drink, don’t go out to a bar. If you love a midnight snack, get rid of all the unhealthy food in your house. Avoiding your bad habit might not seem like a smart idea, but changing your environment can have a marked affect on your success.

5. Get A Bad Habit Buddy

Everything is fun with a friend, and breaking bad habits is no different. You can find a buddy with the same bad habit as you, or just a friend who’s also trying to turn over a new leaf. Tackle the challenges of your bad habits together. You can hold each other accountable and there will always be someone there to celebrate with you when you succeed. These are all powerful motivators.

6. Visualise Your Success

Sometimes, the best way to break a bad habit is to look at your life as a big picture. If you really want to stop biting your nails, imagine every day how lovely your nails would look if they weren’t bitten to the quick. If you’re over impulse buying, set a financial goal and imagine yourself achieving it. Whatever the habit you can visualise yourself at a point in the future, free from the habit, and moving forward.

7. Remember You Aren’t Changing, You’re Improving

People often, mistakenly believe that to break their bad habits, they must change a fundamental part of who they are. This is especially true when that habit is linked to your identity, as it is with drinkers, smokers and compulsive shoppers. If you’re struggling with this, it’s important to remember that you aren’t really changing at all, you’re just improving yourself. In a way, you’re returning to a previous version of yourself, one where you weren’t driven by bad habits.

8. Reframe Negative Self-Talk

Criticising yourself is such a simple thing to do, it’s no wonder it’s at the heart of the fight against breaking a bad habit. However, judging yourself for not acting better is not going to make a positive difference on your life. Try and reframe the bad things you’re saying with the word “but” i.e. I’m so fat but I could be fit a few months from now. Remember that even if you slip up and do something you shouldn’t do, you aren’t a failure, you’re just a normal human being working to figure life out.

Breaking a bad habit is partly about hard work, but it’s also about perseverance and about getting back on your feet when you slip up. There’s nobody stopping you continuing on your path to improvement but you, so don’t make excuses and focus on the prize at the end of the road.

How did you break your bad habit?