Three Ways to Break a Bad Habit

Bad habits come in many forms, shapes and sizes. The point is you swore you’d get rid of one of them. And you didn’t. Because it’s tougher than it seems. Needless to say, the process will continue right through 2019. And 2020, and so on. No wonder only 8% of people stick to their New Year’s Resolutions. It’s hard! As depressing as that statistic might be, it’s about to change.

Ready to learn how to break bad habits? Ready to kick ass this year? Here. We. Go!

MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT TEMPTATION FREE. Your willpower is finite, so don’t try to enter the ring with your bare hands (or self-control in that case). Instead, let your willpower slowly build up as you progress. In the beginning, rely on willpower as little as possible. You do that by simply removing temptations wherever you can. 

MAKE IT THROUGH SEVEN DAYS The difference between success and failure of your first week is entirely in your mind. Develop the mindset of successful people. If you give up on day 3, jump to the conclusion that “you’ll never change” anyways, and go back to having 3 beers a night, that’s when you know you lost. So even if you fail, don’t ever give up during the first 7 days.

FOCUS ON POSITIVE REPLACEMENT. When you’re trying to break a bad habit, eventually it has to make way for a better habit. Switch from a negative to a positive feedback loop. In the first few days you have to pay attention to not accidentally slip into your bad behavior. But once you’re more aware of your behavior and you’re in the mindset of changing it, obsessing over your bad habit will only leave you stuck in a vicious cycle. You’ll constantly try to catch yourself, wait until you finally do and then tell yourself “I knew I would do this again.”

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