How to Quit Bad Habits – Some Motivation

We all have bad habits (although some more than others), and the prospect of trying to tackle these demons – the big ones or the small ones – can be daunting. Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, stop biting your nails or giving up junk food - even if you’re trying to overcome other issues such as taking your bad moods out on others or over sharing on social media – we have found some great advice that should help you kick some of your bad habits!

 

  
Clear Objective ÷ Reason + Reminder = Motivation
The first step is to decide exactly what the habit is that you’re quitting. Be as specific as possible, as ambiguity can make a task too broad and complicated.

Next, it’s important to find a really good reason to quit the habit. Take 5 minutes to have a good long think about why you want to make this change – how does it affect you? How does it affect others? What are the main benefits of kicking this habit?

Once you’ve defined your problem and defined a compelling set of reasons to rectify it, write it down neatly on a card or poster. Make sure to keep it brief and be as clear and concise as possible – don’t sugar coat things, be straight forward. For example you could write “I will stop eating junk food. I will stop because it makes me tired and sluggish. I will stop because it is unhealthy and I want to lose weight.”

When you’re happy with your written motivation (you could add pictures or an inspiring quote if you like), stick it up on your mirror – the mirror that you look in every day. Take just one minute each morning to read your reminder to yourself, and you’d be surprised at its effectiveness to keep you motivated with your goals at the top of your mind.

Easy does it
The journey to quitting a habit should be taken one step at a time. Don’t put extraordinary amounts of pressure on yourself and expect your whole life to turn around in one day. Tackle each challenge – whether it’s a craving or a mood swing – as it arises. Again, don’t let things become too complicated, view each situation as an isolated event and focus on one thing at a time. Once you’ve passed that one individual obstacle, take a deep breath and let it go. Move on and forward, live in the right now, until it’s time to take on the next challenge. It does you no good to worry about something that hasn’t happened yet, or about something that has already happened.

Record and Reward
When aiming for an end-goal, it can really help keep track of your progress, whether good or bad. These records can be useful when used in conjunction with a personal points-system, whereby you can reward yourself with a treat or indulgence for good behaviour, which will make for even more positive motivation.

Keeping notes of your slip-ups and mistakes can also be really useful as an analytical tool – by going through all your instances over a period of time you’ll be able to pick up on patterns that you possibly weren’t aware of, and areas where you’re finding you’re making the same mistakes repeatedly. This will allow you to clearly understand where the issues are arising and figure out why, and you could take steps to make sure you avoid the same mistakes again.

For example, if you find you often indulge in too heavy dinners, you might find that this is because you’re overly hungry at that time and could curb the evening ravenousness by incorporating a low-GI mid-afternoon snack into your diet plan.

                                                                               
Quitting bad habits is never easy, but it’s important to remember that it’s also never impossible. Have an open heart and be willing to change, and always accept as much love and support from those around you as you can. Making small changes here and there can have a surprising ripple-effect into other areas of your life, and over time it will become much easier to recognise and rectify areas for adjustment. Any improvement you make for yourself is valuable, no matter how big or small. Good luck, we’re rooting for you 