Are you a slave of a bad habit?
The first thing that came into your mind after you read this question is the bad habit that is probably slowly ruining your life. As small or as big, bad habits have the ability to take you away from meaningful things that are waiting for you in your life. Having a bad habit isn’t something you should feel ashamed off, we as humans are weak and unfortunately we can accept bad habits faster than the good ones.
Although there is no reason to be ashamed it important that you are actively trying to get rid of that habit and not only passively give up and let it lead your life. Bad habits are hard but possible to break, as soon as you understand that you will be able to take a step into a right direction.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BAD HABITS
To make things clear there are a lot of bad habits and their intensity of negativity is different. There are habits that are bad but they are not damaging your life in an enormous way, but that doesn’t mean that it is okay not to try and get rid of that habit as well. On the other side there are bad habits that are destroying your life in a broader way. They are not only ruining your mental or just physical health but both at the same time. Although there are different opinions on what is a very bad and what is a not so bad bad habit I still believe that all of them should just not exist in our lives.
I myself had a bad habit that I couldn’t get rid of for almost 2 years. I just neglected the fact that although it made me happy for a moment in a long term it started to affect my mental and physical health. I knew that it was time for me to take action and get my life under control. That is why I wanted to share with you 5 things that helped me get rid of a bad habit and ways they can hopefully help you too.
1. STOP IGNORING IT
Although deep down we know that the thing we are doing is bad for us we still ignore that feeling and all the visible signs. Why? Because that bad habit is making it look like it isn’t that bad. It is even worse when it gives you that tiny feeling of joy but then leaves you with that bitter taste that you just brush off as if it doesn’t have anything to do with that habit. This step is the hardest one only because we as human beings are good at making excuses.
Right this moment is time for you to stop making excuses. A lot of people start with a mindset that they are not strong enough to put an end to a bad habit so they don’t even try to. Trust me, you are much stronger than you think. You only need to want the best for yourself. Reflect and imagine how much better and healthier your life would be if you just stop doing what is harming you. Once you truly realize that it is not doing you any good you will be able to shift your whole mindset which will make it easier to take a second step.
2. MAKE A LIST
If you are afraid that you won’t be able to completely get rid of that bad habit I suggest to make a good old list. Write down all the positive and negative things that that habit actually brought to your life and what can it bring in the future. Try to think about a specific situation, emotion or thought. Try to really take some time to think about it and really mindfully make that list while being completely honest and knowing that you are making it for your own good. As visual and real you make it, it will be much easier for you to bring to consciousness all the negative sides of it.
Now starts something that a lot of people find challenging. The urge for that bad habit will start to appear. Your mind is going to start finding a lot of reasons why you should actually keep that bad habit. This will happen quite often and as scary as this might be you need to push through it. Whenever those kind of thoughts and emotions start to build up read through your list. Once you remember why you decided to get rid of that bad habit in the first place you will be able to stick to this journey.
3. REDUCE ITS OCCURRENCE
Behind every bad habit is some kind of pattern and trigger. When you are trying to completely get rid of a bad habit even the simplest of things could trigger it. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking even seeing a "no smoking" sign will make your brain remember the sensation it felt when you would smoke. Sometimes it can get hard to avoid those kinds of things but until your state of mind is strong enough you should be careful not to fall in the trap.
When you’ve been doing something for a long period of time your body and mind gets used to it and finds it normal and necessary. So when you then start to stop that one habit your mind and body will signal that something is missing. That’s why you should be prepared when those kind of situations happen. I assure you that it gets easier as the time passes by and your body and mind starts to forget about that bad habit you once had.
4. REPLACE IT WITH A GOOD HABIT
The last tip is going to help you to completely get over that bad habit and actually shift your life in an even better direction. As I previously mentioned when you stop doing something you did for a while it is going to be a little bit shocking for your body. The quickest way to trick your body is to find a good habit that you can implement into your lifestyle in replacement of that bad habit. This is not only helping you to stop doing something that is harming you but also making sure that you are nourishing your body and soul.
If you for example decided to stop drinking alcohol or stop drinking too much coffee then you could replace it with going to gym or doing Yoga. There is always something good you can replace bad with. I'm sure that you can immediately think of at least 3 things you could replace that bad habit with. Just think about all the benefits you will be able to witness once you get rid of bad habit and start a good one. It doesn’t mean that your life will immediately turn 360 it just means that you are taking steps into the right direction.
Have you been trying to get rid of a bad habit?
What are your thoughts on tips mentioned in this post?
What are your thoughts on tips mentioned in this post?
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