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How To Break Bad Habits Completely
(3+ TIPS)
I had a Bad Habit to play video games, all day & night. It was affecting my sleep, my studies, my goals, and everything. I just try to stop that but I just try and fail again and again. It was always this “Just One More Time” excuse that comes up.
Well now, I have broken that bad habit and I rarely play games. Whatever your bad habit is. Whether it’s drinking too many cold drinks, or playing video games, or just biting your nails. You have the ability to break those habits as long as you take them seriously.
In this article, you will learn “how to break any bad habit”.
"What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do."– Aristotle
But before we go to the actual strategies and tactics, it’s useful to understand what actually a habit is?.
Tables of Contents
What Exactly Is A Bad Habit?
Habits are energy savers they can save your energy. You can walk easily or drive a car because it’s your old habit. Habits are your autopilot mode.
Bad Habits are things you do in automation but don’t have any long term benefits and have a negative effect in your life.
Charles Duhigg in his book- ‘The Power Of Habit’ defines a habit, in 4 stages, in general:
Cue- It is what triggers the habit in your mind. (like a Facebook notification or your to-do list)
Routine- Whatever pattern or action you take to get the reward.
Reward- A short or long-term reward.
Once a habit becomes truly deeply ingrained, then comes the fourth part. The Craving
Whenever the cue triggers your mind there is an intense craving for that reward. Every habit has a reward otherwise you wouldn’t do it. That’s what a habit is.
A Bad Habit is any habit that stands in opposition to your long-term goals.
Bad habits are harder to break than good ones. Bad Habits are ingrained and almost always they lead to a short-term reward. And that badly affects your long-term goals.
Using "2 min Rule" to stop Procrastination
Why we even procrastinate in the first place.
When we feel uncomfortable about a subject and then we move on to something we enjoy. Simple?
But here’s something you don’t know– when you start working the discomfort disappears! And helps to break bad habits.
It means- that even if you start it you can defeat procrastination easily!So lets see how to do that using “2 minutes” rule:-
“2 mins” Rule: Make The Task easiest possible– Here are some examples-
• “I will go jogging for 30 min” converts into “I have to wear my jogging shoes.”
• “Study for class” converts into” open my notes”
What we are doing here is making the task more comfortable, so we can start and if we can start we can also avoid procrastination!
Because when you start it becomes easy to continue.
Why does it work?
Many people think it’s weird to work for 2 mins in its easiest way possible. But it’s actually is like a trick to your brain. When you tell yourself to do a hard task, it’s easy to procrastinate!
But when you tell yourself to wear ‘running shoes’ instead of ‘jogging for an hour’. You make it easy to start, and the trick begins,
Your brain stops feeling uncomfortable about the subject and makes it easy to continue. And helps to break bad habits.
This trick is really useful when you’re about to procrastinate use this trick to stop it.
How To Break A Bad Habit
Here are some ideas that will help you break your bad habits;
1. Identify and cut down your triggers: If you play games when you’re bored. Try to keep yourself busy. If you play games at a particular time, then reschedule the time for something else. Identity the triggers which make you end up doing that bad activity, and then cut them down.
2. Choose a substitute for your bad habit: You have to think ahead of time, for the time you may experience bored or stressed. You have to plan, ‘what you will do instead of the old bad habit?’. Let take some examples.
What you will do when facebook calls you to procrastinate? (Example: write one sentence for work). What you will do when you have the urge to smoke? (Example: do breathing exercises)
3. Tell Somebody: Don’t keep it all to yourself. Tell others that you’re trying to stop a bad habit. This will create pressure because if you fail then it would be an embarrassment. This will help you to give better results.
4. Visualize Yourself Succeeding: Imagine yourself without that bad habit. Visualize the new identity that you can build. This process will give you the motivation all the way through.
5. Overcome negative thoughts: Don’t surround yourself with negativity. You can use the word ‘but’ whenever you do so…
- I always have bad grades, but I am improving day by day.
- I am a failure, but success comes from failure.
- I am fat, but I could get in shape within a few months.
6. Start: Use the tips and make them into practice to break bad habits.
Learn how to…
- Break habits and make good ones.
- Get 1% Better Everyday
- Avoid procrastination
…And more
Submitting It Up!
» Identify and cut down your triggers
» Choose a substitute for your bad habit
» Share to Someone
» Visualize yourself succeeding.
» Overcome negative Thoughts