24 Sep 5 Ways to Ditch a Bad Habit, and Keep it That Way
We all have bad habits, some more than others, but how do we actually change them because it can be more than a bit challenging to just stop doing something that you have done for ages, and you actually enjoy, even if you know it is not as healthy as it should be.
Yeah, we could go cold turkey, but this option is not usually sustainable unless we have an ironclad will which most of us struggle with, so it may be best to try something a bit different.
Crowd it out
One of the best ways to eliminate a bad habit is to simply crowd it out with a good habit. By doing this the bad habits often have no option but to take a hike which makes them much easier to manage.
For instance, if you like a glass of wine when you get home from work, switch your routine so when you get in go for a walk, it will relieve the stress from your day and when you finish you may not feel like you want that wine as you feel so good about yourself.
Take it easy
Don’t ever try to change more than one habit at a time. In the New Year people often try to make a bunch of changes but by mid-month, these have nearly always fallen by the wayside because we bit off more than we could chew.
It is suggested that it takes a minimum of 21 days to embed a new habit – often longer – so give yourself plenty of time, be patient, and remember to support just one change at a time until it becomes second nature. We all get impatient, but playing the long game will actually get you to where you want to be much faster.
Do it in stages
Say you want to give up caffeine as an example. This should be done in stages, drop just one daily cup of tea or coffee in the first week, replacing it with herbal tea or water. The following week replace another until you have eventually removed caffeine from your daily routine.
This works the same with alcohol, start with one alcohol-free day a week, and build up, replacing your regular drink with a healthier option like kombucha – a fermented drink, water with cucumber r lemon, or a herbal tea. Serve in a special glass or cup so it feels more decadent.
Approach bad habits from a different angle
If you really struggle to address bad habits, even by replacing them with something healthier, you could approach your habits from a different angle such as doing it for someone else, your spouse, your kids, or your parents, this way you are including someone else into the mix and this can add to your resolve.
Doing it for the environment is a good one too – I struggle with buying crisps, purely because of all the crisp packets that are not recyclable, I think of the billions of crisp packets made every year around the world and wonder if any of them have ever biodegraded yet, this puts me off buying them except for on very rare occasions.
Never say never
As the Indian mystic, Sadhguru suggests, everything is fine from time to time. If you have an occasional coffee you will enjoy it wholeheartedly, and it won’t be that bad for you, but if you drink it every day, several of them, then it is an addiction and coffee has you in its grip.
If you can remove the habit, but still have the pleasure when the mood takes you it is so much better, it allows you to feel that it is always there for you if you fancy it, without it having you in its grip. You have won the war.
Why not try all five approaches on one bad habit, that way you are almost certain to have success. Rinse and repeat and in time your whole approach to life will be healthier.
“Good habits are the key to success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure.”
Og Mandino – 20th Century American author
Feed Good Habits
Kathy Mac
xx
Kathy Mac – author of Feeding Good Habits – 12 weeks to rewire your mind, reset your habits and renew your relationship with food for improved health and sustained weight loss.