Many people have habits they’d like to break. But it’s interesting to see that habits can be good, or bad depending on the situation. Some good habits have been good for a long time, but then your situation changes, and the habit becomes neither good or bad, or maybe it becomes bad all together.
Let’s take smoking for example. In school or when socializing with your friends it may seem like a good idea, or a valuable habit to form. I mean, many people are smokers, and if your friends are smoking it just seems reasonable to become a smoker too.
But fast forward to about 40 years in the future (or less!) and see the effects of long-term smoker’s health. Many smokers can form lung cancer, or other nasty conditions associated with the chemicals in the cigarette smoke.
So what was a good habit at one time (and served a good positive purpose) has now become a negative habit that should be avoided.
So what should one do if a habit that was once good has gone bad?
Here are some tips for breaking “bad” habits that you might find useful:
1. Remind yourself of a goal that’s bigger than your habit, and does not include your habit. This idea has real power. If you have a more important task to achieve (like being fit) then something like over-eating or smoking just gets in the way and becomes redundant. You’ll simply stop thinking about it the more you think about achieving your goal.
2. Set smaller goals to achieve that are easier. You should be able to set some milestones that you can go for if you’re having trouble going for the big one. Set yourself something small to achieve that will get you closer to your goal quicker. Set the next goal just a little way off so that it’s so damned easy to achieve that you wont have any trouble at all. Then set the next one, and the next. Even if it takes 100 of these small goals to get where you want to go it’ll be worth it!
3. Form a habit that’s different to replace the old habit that’s lost it’s usefulness. Just use a substitute and do that instead. I’ve heard of successful alcoholics quitting by taking up water, or lemonade. Or even brushing their teeth! But be careful not to become just as impulsive as you were with the bad habit!