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Bad habits While it usually is a shorter process to start a new habit and form it into a long-term routine, it can be more challenging to break a bad habit. Imagine that you want to quit smoking and have been a regular smoker for many years. This might sound impossible at first, but I can tell you – it is possible out on my own experience.
- Identify your triggers As triggers are most of the time, the first step to developing a habit is identifying and understanding the triggers behind your behavior. For me, that’s the first step I take whenever I want to move past bad behavior or habit. Try to track your habit and see when it occurs.
- Why do you want to change? Answering that critical question is key to your success. The better your reason, the more likely you will stick to it and make sure to reach your goal in the long run. There is one thing I’d like to add to that. Dig deep and find your real reason why. From many people, I hear that they want to get rich. When I keep asking questions, it usually boils down to wanting more attention, feeling loved, or needing more time with family and friends instead of the hustling.
- Be mindful This whole thing is about being aware of any thoughts, feelings, and actions. Ensure that you observe any behaviors or patterns that might compromise achieving your goal of getting rid of a bad habit.
- Constantly remind yourself Constant reminders are good tools to work with. They may be notes, stickers, sticky notes, or other visual reminders that help you achieve your goals.
How long does it take to break Bad Habits?
The main evidence-backed time frame for habit breaking comes from a 2012 research conducted by Ben D. Gardner, which suggests it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days.
From my own experience, you can’t really tell. Sometimes, breaking bad habits can be quite easy, others will take longer. The crucial ones from my perspective are a lot harder to break.
What are bad habits?
I put bad habits in two categories. Habits that affect my health like smoking, eating processed food, not working out, or not reaching my daily step goal are in the primary category.
The secondary category are habits that compromise my personal development. Procrastination, not taming my inner voice, not taking the time to read, and others like that.
My own experience with bad habits
What I discovered so, is that habits that are linked to some kind of depression or feeling bad about yourself, they are usually much harder to break.
This means that most bad habits have an underlying reason you must tackle and solve before changing your habit.
Books I recommend reading
By far the best book I’ve read about changing habits was a total game changer to me. The book is called Feeling Good by David D. Burnes. Even if that book was written in 1999 it’s still the best one out there.
As a follow-up book, he wrote Feeling Great, which can help a lot as well.
Conclusion
Breaking bad habits is not easy, but doing so is more than worthwhile. Yes, it will require some effort from your end, and you will need to be persistent.
The results will surprise you as much as they did surprise me. You will become more efficient, feel better, get things done you never imagined being able to, and achieve more in your life.
