Overcoming Bad Habits; The Steps [Part 3]
We have looked at a couple of ways that can help one to overcome their bad habits from the last episode and we will talk more on it here. Note: instead of looking at the habit as "mission impossible," it will be better to focus on your ability to overcome the habit. The truth is that you have the abilities within you to stop an unwanted habit because you are stronger than you can ever think of. So let us consider some more vital tips on how to overcome bad habits.
1. Try to substitute the habit with an entirely different one
There are sometimes that stopping a particular habit outrightly might seem like an uphill task because of the things that trigger the habit. You can try to replace or substitute the habit with a better one. For example, if you have the habit of munching on unhealthy snacks when you are hungry and then exposing yourself to health risks, you can replace it with eating fruits and other healthy foods when you are hungry. With this, you will not have reasons to munch on the the junks again. You will discover that each time you convince yourself to take on an entirely new behavioral pattern, it tends to override your former habits.
When these new healthy behavioral patterns are repeated over time, they become habits; but a good habit because they are healthy and welcomed. When you begin to appreciate the benefits of the new habit that you are forming, you will have more enthusiasm to continue with it and thereby placing less emphasis on the old bad habit you had. I have a friend who was on the fat side and this was as a result of her bad eating lifestyle which became habitual. After a while of trying to stop it, she then decided to replace her high calories food with ones of less calories and replace junky snacks with fruits. She also resolved to stop eating once it is past 6pm.
At first, it seemed like a punishment and an uphill task but she had to make a choice to continue. After a while of doing that repeatedly, she began to see the benefits in it and these served as motivation for her to keep going. The actions became a good habit for her and she even complemented it with morning exercises each morning. Now she has achieved the great body structure she had ever wanted. If your desire to effect a change becomes stronger than your bad habit, you will discover how strong you can be to overcome the bad habit - just like the desire of my friend to lose weight became stronger than her bad eating habits and she moved to effect a change.
2. Be prepared for errors and mistakes
Just like I have always said; getting over a bad habit is not an easy process and in the process, one may still see themself falling back again to it. Obviously, "old habits die hard." So you need to be prepared for misdeeds, especially when you are still trying to consolidate on the new and healthy habit. This is just to remind you: you did not pick your old habits in one day, so you will not expect to let go of it automatically in one day - it is a gradual process.
If you see yourself falling back to your old bad habit, you have to be truthful and honest with yourself about it and ask yourself why you fell back to it. This will enable you to discover the triggers, and then choose the right approach you need to go about it. You do not have to lie or try to deceive yourself about why you fell back to the old habits, neither do you need to deny it nor give excuses for it so that it will not weaken you the more. Just try again. And have in mind that you can achieve it. Do not feel that the habit is impossible to be stopped.
3. Talk to someone about it
If you see yourself constantly falling back to the habit even when you have tried so hard to stop it, then you can talk to someone about it. There are people you can trust with details about you and they will help point you towards the right direction on ways to get over the habit. There are also professional counsellors that you can engage their services, who can help provide assistance on potent ways to overcome the habit.
Thanks for reading
