What To Do When You Can’t Break Your Bad Habits

It is said, habits reflect the personality and probably the innermost characteristics of an individual Habits – good or bad are an integral part of our lives. We need to realize that each individual is different and has a diverse set of habits. 

Some people carry habits formed during their childhood until they grow old, while others embrace temporary habits. Here, temporary habits indicate habits that are overcome/curbed quickly. 

The real threat lies in practices, especially the bad ones ingrained in day-to-day life — for example, smoking or drinking or excessive eating, spending more time on social media and OTT Platforms. On the other hand, good habits like getting up early, exercising, reading, eating healthy food and organising time well help you lead a happy & content life and promote self-belief. 

Everyone knows  that bad/unusual habits hinder your path to success and stop you achieving goals

Wondering How? Let’s check.

Before we proceed, you need to have answers for- 

Have you ever stopped to think about your habits or how they impact your daily life? 

Have you ever needed to change your practices because of a new environment? 

We are sure you have mulled over these questions and are looking to overcome your habits be successful, retain self-motivation, and achieve life’s goals. 

According to experts, habits are formed when new behaviours become automatic and are acted upon with the least conscious awareness; that’s because the behavioural patterns you repeat often are etched into your nerve pathways. Habits are primarily formed in the subconscious mind. They’re triggered by the brain’s limbic system, the area that controls emotions. It means the way you feel indirectly dictates which activities you decide to carry out at a particular time of the day without even realising it.

Changing or overcoming habits you have had for years is challenging, but it is not impossible. 

Here are the top five effective ways to break habits and achieve goals.

Have faith in your ability to reach your goals    

First and foremost, you need to believe in yourself if you want to defeat your habits. If your faith is strong enough and you think you can create changes, your belief will signal your limbic system about what is needed. It is like your inner voice whispering and working its magic through the open track of your faith. Remember, determination to succeed and achieve life’s goals is great, but making them come true needs planning, consistency, and above all, patience. Combine these four elements, and you are on your way to success. 

Be aware of your behaviour and actions

If you want to know yourself, you need to look inside yourself with the eyes of your mind wide open. Observe without judging what behaviour and emotions drive your actions. It sounds simple, but it is challenging, and you may find it difficult initially, but as you practice, it will become easy.

Avoid fooling yourself when you start developing new, better habits. Cease the excuses, you cannot change the older ones. Pay attention and be consciously aware of your actions, access your inner power, perceptions, and belief, and from there on, you can modify anything you desire.

Start small: 

The best leaders or most successful people started small. What exceptional did they do? Simple, they focused on taking and repeating small steps to reach the highest levels of excellence. They had big dreams and high ambitions, but they ensured to do small things, planned, explored their ability, and most importantly, waited for the right time to strike the iron. 

If they could do, you too can. All you need do is, start small and continue doing it. Yes, starting small can affect your attitude, but ignore the urge to feed your moods or habits. Just keep going, and you’ll begin to grow from small to big and so on. 

Repetition: 

Changing or replacing an unproductive habit takes time. And suppose you want to create a long-lasting, productive practice. In that case, you need to consciously, continuously repeat the new, desired activity until the action becomes a part of your subconscious mind. 

Remember: It takes purposeful efforts to notice the patterns of your thoughts, behaviour, and actions, but once you see and change the targeted trait, you can use replay and incremental steps to change your habits completely.

Change the routine: 

You know, the major portion of your daily routine consists of your habits. Unfortunately, most unwanted or untimed habits overlap, making it challenging for you to hold a few and leave some. Now that you have understood how to break habits and develop productive ones, defining or changing your routine is vital. 

How can you do this? Simply by defining your routine in the ideal chronological order, for example, eating a rich breakfast and checking emails or social media notifications after reaching the office, and not the reverse.

Changing a routine you lived in for years together won’t be easy. But, you can make it easy by focusing on your goals.

Remember, habits that help you reach your goals should be prioritised over everything else. If you struggle to understand your preferences, you might suppress your capabilities. 

So, commit yourself to meaningful activities and do things that add value and meaning to your life, and then build a set of habits supporting those activities.