How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones

Habits are hard to change, as they are regular tendencies or practices you would have done for most of your life. It’s almost as if the behaviours have become automatic or instantaneous with them not taking too much thought to indulge in. It also makes it equally as difficult to create new behaviours and habits, as your body and mind is so used to doing other things.

The basal ganglia, which is a group of subcortical nuclei found in your brain, is known as the autopilot part of the mind and helps us complete tasks without a second thought. Common activities that are controlled by the basal ganglia include brushing your teeth every day and eating at certain times of the day. However, it can also prevent bad habits and make quitting difficult.

There are luckily ways that you can stop bad habits with enough effort and determination. We will explore these methods throughout this article, as well as give you guidance on how you then form good habits.

How to Break Bad Habits

Breaking your bad habits can be tricky, but there are some methods that you can try to help you think about the process differently and help you eliminate bad habits forever.

Find a Substitute

One of the best ways to break a bad habit is to find a substitute that you can do instead that’ll help you stop thinking about the habit. This might require some forward thinking and planning, as you will need to think about what will be the best replacement for your habits when you face stress or boredom. For example, smoking cigarettes is a bad habit that can be replaced with alternatives such as Velo pouches. You could also replace it with an activity, such as completing a workout.

Cut Out Triggers

If you start to notice that you are only giving in to your bad habits due to certain triggers, you can simply cut these triggers out of your life. These triggers could range from your location to the people around you, as these can influence what actions you take. For example, if you begin to realise that you only smoke when you drink, then you could avoid going to the pub. Alternatively, if your bad habits only happen around one specific person then you could spend less time with them.

Seek Help from Peers

It’s never too late to ask for help from your peers, as they can help you overcome any obstacles in your life. Keeping your bad habit-breaking effort private won’t do you any favours, as you won’t be receiving any support from the people around you. To balance this out, you can team up with someone who is going through something similar and help each other out along the way.

Visualise Success

People often fail to break bad habits due to a lack of ambition and the inability to visualise their success. Setting goals to hit along your journey can be very beneficial in helping you feel fulfilled as you attempt to overcome your bad habit. If you look towards the future and envision yourself succeeding, it will make it easier for you and help you build a new self.

How to Form Good Habits

Forming new habits can be as complex as breaking old ones, as you need to completely change your cognitive function. However, there are ways you can do this to help you build a healthier lifestyle.

Focus on Small Changes

Starting by forming small habits can help you in the long term with larger habits. This eliminates the ability for you to say no, as the task or activity will be less time-consuming and require less effort to achieve. For example, rather than attempting to get into the habit of doing 50 pushups a day, you should start by just doing 10 to help you get into the rhythm.

Plan for Failure

Setbacks are bound to happen when you are trying to form good habits to replace your bad ones. The most important part is to plan for failure, which can sound silly at first, but if you know how to react when you slip up it makes it easier to get back on track. There’s a clear difference between planning to fail and expecting to fail. You should never expect to fail, but a plan should be there just in case.

Be Patient

Patience is a skill that needs to be learned and can help you unlock your potential. Staying consistent with forming your new habit and realising that it’s going to take time to become an automatic action is very important. You might need to set a reminder or alarm for the first few months to help you with constructing a new habit, as eventually, you won’t need any reminding. If your new habit hasn’t formed within a couple of weeks, don’t quit!

You may also read:

• How to Crush Procrastination to Achieve Set Goals
• How these Books helped me quit my job and start a Small Business
• Staying Sharp: Cognitive Fitness Strategies for Enhanced Focus and Motivation at Work

Author Bio:

Darcy Fowler, has a Journalism degree and is a passionate writer. Her main focus has been writing blogs about self improvement, as she shares her journey with other people who are experiencing something similar in their lives.