8 Powerful Techniques to Breaking Bad Habits
“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into but hard to get out of.”
In this article, I will discuss how to break bad habits and powerful techniques to combat them.
In order for you to live a better life, there are lots of bad habits that you will need to stop immediately, starting from today. Breaking bad habits will take so many commitments such as time, discipline, patience, and a desire to break them.
Habits cannot be broken overnight. You will break the bad habits the same way you develop them.
Breaking off bad habits can be intimidating especially if you don’t really do it intentionally. You will find yourself going back to those habits every time. Since everyone has the desire for self-improvement, there is a high tendency to do away from bad habits and start developing good ones.
However, the following are the powerful methods suggested by habit-changing therapists and ways to improve the quality of your life.
1. Awareness:
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You must become aware of your habits. What is this habit exactly? How is this bad habit or group of bad habits affecting you? How is this habit affecting others? For example, smoking often has negative effects on others as well as on you. The most powerful technique to break bad habits is to realize that the habit is bad. You need to increase your awareness to give up your habits.
2. Commitment:
You must be determined to do whatever it takes to break bad habits so that you can have better control of your life. You make a decision that “no matter what” you will change the habit by all means. You do the work required to stop. Here are some examples of habits you might like to change: Smoking, eating too much, eating junk foods, not exercising, drinking coffee or other beverages with caffeine in them, eating too much sugar or fat, drinking alcohol, procrastinating, irresponsible, prostitution, etc.
You must make a decision that breaking bad habits through a conscious effort is a worthy goal. You must be able to convince yourself that the change in the habit is worth the effort involved.
3. Find a substitute:
You can easily break a habit by focusing your mind and heart on different alternatives that will relieve you from devastative behavior. Instead of simply deciding to stop eating junk foods, you can plan to eat fresh fruits and salads. Using substitutes for breaking habits is the right technique that can give long-lasting results.
Figure out positive ways that can meet the same needs which were originally filled out by the bad habits.
4. Write down your goals:
It is a very good idea to write them down on a piece of paper and paste them in visible places, like on the fridge, on the bedroom door, or on your wall.
Again write it down and start practicing it. Seeing it every day will help you to give up a bad habit.
5. Focus on discipline and motivation.
It won’t be easy to finish the job you started without discipline and motivation. Along the way, you will find lots of irrelevant reasons why you should stop what you have planned to do.
It is so easy to give in to your impulses without discipline. No one will discipline you from doing the same bad habit all over again but yourself. Motivate yourself. Concentrate on the positive end results rather than succumb to self-pity and frustrations. Visualize frequently the rewards for following through and the costs of not following through on breaking the awful habits and especially the value to your future of building new better habits.
6. Changing the environment:
Majority of the habit-changing therapists believe that living in an environment that stimulates/encourage your new good habit is the most powerful technique to break a bad habit.
A life amending or improving change requires a good support system. Living in the right place at the right time can really strengthen the quality of your life. On the other hand, if your environment feeds your habit, it won’t be easy for you to give it up. You can try to single out yourself from people who have the same habits.
7. Seek the help of others:
If breaking your habit is very difficult to achieve, you will have to seek the help of others who are willing to assist you in the journey and have the ability to make you give up your bad habit.
Get the support of family and friends. There are just some things you cannot do on your own. You need to ask your family or friends to support you on your journey to break off bad habits.
Most of the time you gain strength from people in your lives, especially in times when you feel like you are at the end of the road when you think you can’t achieve your goal anymore.
Persevere and be patient. Remember whatever you put your mind to, you can certainly achieve it. If the bad habit you want to break off is alcohol or drugs, you need to ask for professional help that will help you in achieving this. You can as well ask your friends to pinch you, whenever they see you smoking or engaging in that bad habit you want to stop.
8. Relaxation methods:
You may find it very difficult to war against the urges, in your effort to break the habit. It is therefore advisable to learn/study some relaxation methods. There are lots of related techniques that can help you in solve bad habits problems.
Breathing slowly and rhythmically can help to release the tension. You can also try Pranayama or meditation techniques to cope with the stress of giving up a habit.
Breaking bad habits requires a strong support network and the right resources. Your body and your mind need to be aligned both need to be in the proper space in order to be successful in your journey.
TAKE HOME ON BREAKING THE BAD HABITS
Breaking bad habits will take time and patience on your part, but just remember it can be done. Give yourself thirty days minimum to break old habits and form new habits. Being consistent is the key to your success.
Always remember the person who will benefit most from breaking off the bad habit is none other than you. It may be difficult but it can be done
Now, you are armed with 8- Powerful Techniques for breaking any bad habit or other condition that requires changing. If you have an addiction to something such as alcohol, these steps alone may not be enough. You may require additional professional help or a support group, but in most cases, these 8- Powerful Techniques will do the trick!
Finally, remember that you are Dynamic, Intelligent, Virtue, and A person of purpose