Five Ways to Break a Bad Habit

Okay, let’s start of with a round of pure honesty with each other as well as with ourselves.  We all have a bad habit (or two or three) that we would love to be free of.  It might be biting our nails, overeating, procrastination, smoking or any other one from the long list of nasty, success sucking habits – many of which are much easier to eliminate than imagine.

Now for the good news!  With some shifts in your perception, perseverance, and determination you CAN be free of that nasty little habit (or those nasty little habits if you are like I was.)  In order to make it easier for you to shake that habit free from your life I want to give you a few tips on dump it like the morning trash.

Here are five strategies that can help you break a bad habit:

1. Commitment. Is this something that YOU truly want to accomplish?  Make sure it is!  After all, it is nice to “talk the talk,” but in the end you will need to by “walking the walk” as well – or you will feel worse about yourself AND you will still have the habit. So, Be honest with yourself!  Is not honestly the right time to kick your bad habit?  If it is, are you trying to flush this bad habit for YOUR own reasons, or are you falling to the pressure of someone in  your circle of influence?
   • Only take on this commitment for one person – YOU!  Don’t let yourself be pressured by others. It is your time and energy not theirs that will be expended on make this goal a reality, so invest your time and energy in the way YOU believe will give you the greatest end result.
2. Journaling.  A life worth living is a life worth recording.  Every time you find yourself engaging in your targeted bad habit…Jot down it down.  I do not want you to look on this as a way to punish yourself, but rather, as a way to give you an insight of just how often your undesired behavior is occurring.  This insight will better arm you in devising ways to break this bad habit.
   • Be sure to include the thoughts and feelings that you experienced just before and/or during the behavior (bad habit).  Again, this will give you insight on whether you are engaging in this habit out of stress, boredom, being tired, etc.  It may seem a bit time consuming to record all these thoughts and actions, but I can attest that it will be a wonderful tool in speeding up your success in breaking your bad habit.
3. Fill the void – Choose an alternative behavior.  Getting rid of a bad habit creates a ‘vacuum’ – the universe does not like vacuums (except in space).  So you will need to pick some other activity or behavior that will serve as either a short term reminder of or, a long term replacement to, your bad habit, thus filling that vacuum.
   • For example, after serving six years in the military I came out with bad cussing habit.  When my daughter started learning to talk, I decided I did not want her to pick up my adult language so I to choose to drop the consonant ridden four-letter words from my vocabulary.  In their place I choose to put the word ‘bloody’as a long term replacement.   Thus, allowing my passionate nature to express itself but in a more acceptable manner.
   • Some other ideas are to take a walk, read a book, sing a song, or cook.  Any activity can be used as an alternative behavior.  But remember, you do not want to replace one bad habit with another one, but anything that can redirect your focus works well.
4. Start scheduling the replacement NOW!  Now that you have selected your alternative behavior, immediately start inserting it in place of your bad habit.  But in some cases a gradual shift may work better for you than a complete and immediate change.
   • Perhaps in your habit’s case it would be better to start with once this week, then twice next week, and so on, until you are practicing your alternative behavior instead of the bad habit consistantly.
   • Remember, you did not learn your habit overnight, do not expect to change it overnight.  Please practice patience!  People learn different behaviors at a different pace.  Just because your best friend was able to quit smoking in one week, does not guarantee that you can.  Nor does their need to take three months to loose two pounds mean you need six month to loose four.
5. Share this GIVE UP goal!  Zig Ziglar taught me that when it comes to your goals, you share your Go Up Goals carefully with trusted people.  But your Give Up Goals – those you share with everyone.  Do not keep this a secret. If you have made the decision to break a habit, tell your friends, your family and your co-workers.  This is the time when you need their support to help you be successful.
   • Whether you succeed or not, choosing to try and break a habit is taking a major leap in a positive direction. That is why it is important to share what you are trying to accomplish with those that can help remind you.   The people in your life that care, even a little bit, will be there to encourage you, offer support, and help you wherever they can.

Again, lets be honest, breaking a bad habit can be a difficult task, but it is not an impossible one. Use these techniques to make your journey easier, then celebrate your accomplishment when you’ve succeeded – because you did it and you deserve it!

Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann

One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs.
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com

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