self improvement tips

How To Break Bad Habits

Do you talk over people during conversations?

Do you bite your nails when you are nervous?

Do you drink like a fish or pop pills like a pharmacist?

Have you ever told a lie to get a point across?

Have you ever ignored the people you were with for a better conversation with someone on your cell phone?

Has your recent predicament made you so worried that you can’t focus on anything?

Good, you are human. Each and every person on this earth has habits rather good or bad. There are just some things that we tend to do automatically. They have become so repetitive that they almost seem natural. Habits are inherently neutral but speaking for myself I seem to have more bad ones than good and I think I would greatly benefit from turning the tables. So how do you break bad habits?

WHAT IS A HABIT?

Now in order to break a bad habit you must have a clear understanding of what a habit is. Habits are behaviors that are repeated automatically without any thought or intent. They are so routine that they happen subconsciously. Many of them are created by repetition of a reaction to a specific situation or a measurable amount of positive stimuli.

We all have habits, good and bad, that effect how we respond in various situations. Take me for example. Whenever I get a chance to watch my favorite show Man vs. Wild I must have an ice cold glass of milk and Oreos. That is my good habit. J My bad habit is throwing my dirty clothes on a recliner chair in our bedroom that drives my wife nuts. She thinks we should use the chair for sitting. I use it as a dirty clothes hamper. We have agreed to disagree.

THE STEPS

In an attempt to stay married, for at least another year, I have decided it would be best to get rid of my unproductive habit. Here are a few steps that I have taken on my long road to self improvement that I think will help you as well. Some are easier than others. Good Luck.

Step One

Recognize your habits

You might not notice that every word that comes out of your mouth is negative. Maybe your compulsive drinking habit doesn’t bother you at all. The nature of habits makes them sometimes difficult to detect. They happen on a subconscious level. So if you don’t have your wife screaming at you to stop leaving your clothes in the chair they may require some personal reflecting to identify them. Others may stick out like a person wearing a ‘Go Lebron’ t-shirt at a Cleveland Cavaliers game. Take some time and examine yourself to recognize you habits, good and bad.

Step Two

Replace bad habits with a positive alternative

In my own progression towards becoming a better me and avoiding annoying my wife I have decided to put my dirty clothes in the – wait for it – dirty clothes hamper. This has done some amazing things at my home. For one I don’t have to get screamed at for throwing my clothes in the chair. Secondly I have a comfy chair to drink my ice cold milk and eat Oreos in. It was win-win scenario.

It is best to select an alternative that will have benefits that are apparent and numerous. This will help you maintain the momentum and create a good habit instead of a bad one.

Ex: If you sit in a chair and eat Oreos while watching TV it might be better to run on a treadmill while you watch TV and eat you Oreos. By using this technique you will burn the calories that you gain from eating cookies and improve your endurance for other things.

Step Three

Focus on the positive alternative instead of avoiding the negative one.

Spend your energy and focus on creating positive habits that will benefit you. I don’t know about you but when I try to avoid something intentionally I usually end up doing it because it is always on mind. Alter your focus on modeling good behaviors. In my situation I started by trying to avoid throwing my belongings in the chair. Now I try to make sure I clean up the room every night before I go to bed. Guess what happens when I clean up? The chair often ends up empty until Man vs. Wild comes on.

Bad habits can be broken and good ones acquired but they require the same amount of repetition and consistency that you put in the negative ones. I hear it only takes 21 days to form a habit. I will let you know I am on day 2.

Now it is your turn. I am looking for some help on breaking a bad habit. Share your thoughts and links below I can’t wait to read them.

Frank Jennings is a freelance writer and the founder of A Spark Starts –  ‘All it takes is one spark to start a fire that can change your life!’

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

How To Achieve Your Goals With Health Habits

An Analytical Approach To Self Improvement


GET THE BOOK BY
ERIN FALCONER!

Erin shows overscheduled, overwhelmed women how to do less so that they can achieve more. Traditional productivity books—written by men—barely touch the tangle of cultural pressures that women feel when facing down a to-do list. How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest.

59 Responses to How To Break Bad Habits

  1. I’m grateful for the blog post. Thanks Again. Keep writing!.

  2. Stephenpep says:

    viagra over the counter usa 2020 buy cheap viagra goodrx viagra

  3. Jamesgreat says:

    cialis lowest price 20mg cialis online liquid cialis

  4. Travisshoob says:

    best place to buy generic viagra online generic viagra viagra coupon

  5. Eddievor says:

    medication for ed erectial dysfunction drugs to treat ed

  6. Jamesspura says:

    buy viagra buy viagra viagra without a prescription

  7. Jamesspura says:

    is viagra over the counter canadian pharmacy viagra viagra canada

  8. Jamesspura says:

    how to buy viagra generic viagra online viagra online canadian pharmacy

  9. Jamesspura says:

    viagra price comparison generic viagra online viagra over the counter

  10. Jamesspura says:

    viagra otc buy generic drugs generic viagra names

  11. Ernestjiz says:

    treatments for ed buy drug online treatment for erectile dysfunction

  12. Ernestjiz says:

    ed treatment natural ED Pills Without Doctor Prescription prescription drugs

  13. Ernestjiz says:

    best male enhancement pills generic ed pills erectile dysfunction medicines

  14. Dannymug says:

    cialis 20mg canadian viagra cialis cialis and interaction with ibutinib

  15. Dannymug says:

    generic cialis without prescription cialis how often to take 10mg cialis

  16. BruceBep says:

    ed cures that work prescription drugs what type of medicine is prescribed for allergies
    how to help ed

  17. BruceBep says:

    ed for men ed meds online canada pain meds online without doctor prescription
    drug medication

  18. BruceBep says:

    treatment for ed top ed pills vitality ed pills
    cheap drugs

  19. MichealRot says:

    https://valtrexgeneric500.com/ valtrex over the counter australia

  20. MichealRot says:

    https://amoxicillingeneric500.com/ amoxicillin no prescipion

  21. MichealRot says:

    https://zithromaxgeneric500.com/ zithromax over the counter

  22. WilliamMedlY says:

    sildenafil buy sildenafil online

  23. WilliamMedlY says:

    buy generic drugs online buy generic drugs

  24. WilliamMedlY says:

    sildenafil online buy sildenafil

  25. WilliamMedlY says:

    tadalafil online buy cheap tadalafil

  26. StephenNup says:

    walmart viagra buy viagra generic walmart viagra

  27. RobinSeike says:

    purchasing cialis on the internet buy cialis buy cialis

  28. RobinSeike says:

    buy ed drugs online canadian pharmacy viagra how to get prescription drugs without doctor

  29. RobinSeike says:

    cialis lowest price 20mg buy cialis cialis money order

  30. RobinSeike says:

    best over the counter ed pills cheap Doxycyline cheap pills online

  31. RobinSeike says:

    warnings for cialis cialis pills for sale cialis samples request

  32. RobinSeike says:

    shots for ed india pharmacy erectial dysfunction

  33. RobinSeike says:

    prescription drugs online cheap Cipro aspirin and ed

  34. RobinSeike says:

    viagra without a doctor prescription buy prescription drugs from canada cheap best online pharmacy

  35. RobinSeike says:

    online canadian drugstore cheap Zithromax over the counter ed medication

  36. RobinSeike says:

    canadian viagra viagra coupons 75% off mexican viagra

  37. RobinSeike says:

    prices of viagra at walmart canadian pharmacy viagra men with ed

  38. RobinSeike says:

    erectyle disfunction Amoxil online best ed treatments

  39. RobinSeike says:

    viagra from india buy viagra price of viagra

  40. Traviserony says:

    drugs for ed: best natural cure for ed male ed

  41. Traviserony says:

    natural ed cures: tadalafil without a doctor’s prescription treating ed

  42. LarryCague says:

    canadian pharmacy viagra generic viagra names generic viagra cost

  43. LarryCague says:

    zithromax 250mg zithromax online generic zithromax over the counter

  44. LarryCague says:

    medications online northwest pharmacy canada ed pills

  45. LarryCague says:

    viagra discount viagra no prescription how to get viagra

  46. LarryCague says:

    zithromax 600 mg tablets zithromax cost australia zithromax order online uk

  47. LarryCague says:

    cialis 100 mg lowest price cialis tolerance does medicaid cover cialis

  48. 스모크밤682 says:

    The best e-cigarette liquid site in Korea. Korea’s lowest-priced 전자담배 액상 사이트 e-cigarette liquid.
    스모크밤682 스모크밤

  49. 스모크밤175 says:

    전자담배 액상 사이트 The best e-cigarette liquid site in Korea. smok25 Korea’s lowest-priced e-cigarette liquid. 스모크밤175 스모크밤

  50. GLSpoR says:

    제주룸
    957GLSpoR!|$

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.