Making a better you How to change your bad habits - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Making a better you How to change your bad habits - Introvert Whisperer Making a better you: How to change your bad habits Every person is like a fingerprint; one entirely different from the other, and so are our habits. Each one of us has at least one bad habit we become so committed to, that we hardly bother to try to get rid of the same. It might be eating unhealthy food, laughing at the wrong moment, biting nails, chewing the gum too loudly, or not to practice your last New Year’s resolution. There is just no limit to acquire these habits. If you will ever speak to a smoker, about 70% of them will say they would like to give up on smoking. Drug and alcohol abusers struggle to give up on addictions once they are into it. Many of us have an unhealthy excess weight that we could lose if only we would eat right and exercise more often. So why don’t we do it? “Habits play an important role in our health,” says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Understanding the biology of how we develop routines that may be harmful to us, and how to break those routines and embrace new ones, could help us change our lifestyles and adopt healthier behaviors.” Habits are a result of repetition. Ohh, wait! I am not saying that repetition is bad, repetition is completely normal, in fact, it is often helpful. We wake up in the morning, brush our teeth, shower, comb, and all this without really being mindful of it. We can even drive on familiar routes without really thinking of the directions and all this only because we have been repeatedly doing the same over the years. So if repetition is completely normal then what is the real problem? Habits are hard to break once they get deeply wired by constant repetition in our brains. For example, feelings you experience after consuming drugs or watching porn. You will hardly think of bathing, but your mind will constantly keep triggering the enjoyable moments, which are different from your day-to-day routine. What can you do to change your bad habits? Just like you need to lift heavy weights to build strong muscles, but you need strong muscles to lift heavy weight. Similarly, you need to practice good habits to get rid of bad ones. Try Replacing rather than Eliminating Habits that you have right now are in your life are for a reason and in some way or the other, they provide a benefit for you. For example, many of us are habitual to biting our nails or tapping our feet when we are stressed. Similarly, many find drinking as a solution to come over an emotional trauma. Because every bad habit provides some kind of benefit in your life, it is very difficult to eliminate them. Thus, we should rather try replacing a bad habit with a good one that provides a similar benefit. For example, if you are habitual to smoking when you are stressed, then it is a bad idea to plan to stop smoking. Instead, you should come up with a different plan to deal with stress and try to insert that into your routine. Bad habits address certain needs in our life, and when fulfilling a need cost just a few bucks (buying a cigarette) then people hardly think of the bad side. Thus, it is very hard to cut out a bad habit without replacing them.   Focus on one habit at a time Just like, you cannot work the whole day or even continuously for 8 hours, similarly, you cannot focus on more than one habit at a time. Our willpower has a limited amount of energy every day, and when it is pushed beyond its limit, it becomes hard to control. If you will try to focus on getting rid of more than one habit at a time, you will more likely get stressed as you will try to control your emotions, practices, and thinking in multiple ways. How does this affect habit development? It is simple.   You will not succeed if you try to change multiple habits at the same time. Each one requires a significant amount of willpower to resist, which leaves you in a glucose-depleted state. Most people do not have the willpower energy to focus on multiple habits.   So when they are in a depleted state, it becomes too easy to give up on all that you started, instead of just one. Thus, try baby steps, which is focusing on one habit at a time. Go into it with a plan To start developing good habits, you have to stick to a plan. The habits you develop while you are young will impact not only your productivity but also health, financial security, happiness, and comfort. How much money you make, how well your body functions years from now, how much time you spend with your friends and family â€" all of these is directly linked with healthy habits you practice today. Thus planning will help you make your today better. Here is what you can do: As simple as that â€" a plan that is neither too easy nor too complicated works the best. Write down your plan â€" writing your plan is a simple way to remind yourself what needs to be done at that moment. What is the Substitute?   invest some time in finding a substitute for your bad habits Give yourself a month or two â€" Changing a habit is not simple. The conventional wisdom is that it takes 28 days to get free of a bad habit thus make sure your plan gives you enough time to change your bad habits for good. Tracking your achievement motivates you The habit of tracking your achievements or downfalls is very helpful in long-term as it encourages you in many ways. For example, if you decide to restrict yourself by a few cigarettes, you need to track their number, like how many, right? It is a great idea to keep track of what is working and what is not. Tracking comes down to checking if you did not engage in your bad habit that day and even if you did they how much more or how much less. Just as if most of us has a habit of counting the number of pushups, we did in the gym each day, similarly, counting days without your addiction helps you build a streak that motivates you to grind further without bowing down. When you are clean for one day, and you have not been in years, that is a bliss. The second day added to a chain feels like an event worth celebrating. Then comes the first week, first month, 100 days in a row, the first year and still counting. Achieving this feat of not embracing a bad habit for over a year is enough to give you a sense of accomplishment. In addition, it also provides priceless data, helping you to identify your pitfalls or how often you avoid triggers of your negative behaviors. Get rid of tempting situations When you are home alone with no friends or family members around, do not take it as an opportunity to have your favorite cookies or donuts left in the jar. Habits are often performed with barely any conscious thought that could be ignored but not stopped. Thus, try to divert your mind by keeping it busy with something else like watching TV or listening to music. If you always stop for a donut on your way to work, try a different route.   If you are trying to avoid checking your cell phone all the time, shut down your cell phone or put it in airplane mode. Try to get rid of tempting situations as much as possible. Outsiders can help Do not feel shy of announcing it to your friends that you are trying to make a change by giving up on this or that habit. Just tell everyone about your new mission. Put it up on your wall or computer desktop with #anewme. Just like I did when I used to work with Thanksforthehelp. How is this beneficial? There are two advantages: In my experience, once we let our friends know that we are trying to give up on a bad habit they work as a reminder. If we try to practice the habit we declared to quit, they will surely poke us, reminding us of our promise to yourself. Thus, you will think twice before practicing the same habit as you may wonder what your friends or family will think of you. Moreover, try finding someone you can call, or an online forum you can tap into when any of your cravings start to kick in, and you are struggling. Let your allies hold you accountable, and that will help you give up on a habit. Love your life No matter what happens, let your life know that you love it. Learn to embrace every situation life throws at you with a positive attitude. Remind yourself that you were born with the ability to make a change in your life. Every moment is an experience and those moments have to have quality. The habits, which you decide to follow need not always, be the one which contributes to your career or health. It can be as simple as start worrying less, drinking more water, etc. When you know that you love something your life in this case it becomes very easy to make efforts for it and efforts will surely bring a change.     Author bio Himanshi Goel has been associated as a Social Media Expert with CDR-Report.comsince its start. She really loves to pen down her thoughts on mental constructs, habits, personal development and anything that pleases her eyes. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! 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