Bad habits can have a very negative effect on your lifestyle. Whether it’s eating unhealthy food or spending too much time on your phone and not enough time outdoors, all of these are taking up space and time that you could be putting towards bettering yourself. We’ve come up with some tips for you on how to break bad habits:
First of all, get curious about what it is about this habit that appeals to you. Chances are you already know that excessive screen time is bad for you, so why can’t you stop scrolling? The next time you feel yourself indulging in a bad habit, notice your body’s reaction to it. Do you feel more relaxed? Does it make you feel good or just distracted? By understanding why you like these habits we can then replace them with more productive and healthy alternatives.
By replacing the habit with something different, you are still giving yourself that satisfaction that you previously felt but with something that is going to benefit you in the future. For example, if you are addicted to scrolling on your phone because it makes you feel relaxed, switching this for having a nice bath or reading a good book will still give you that feeling you’re seeking but in a healthier way.
Stress can also play a big part in continuing bad habits. In stressful situations, our bodies and minds seek comfort and stability. A great example of this is eating comfort food. Try to eliminate stress from your life as much as possible, check out our blog post on 4 Ways to Reduce Stress for some tips and tricks. By eliminating stress you will eliminate the need to seek out comfort in bad habits.
With this in mind, it’s important to know when to push yourself and when to give yourself a reward. Give yourself credit for putting in the effort to break a negative habit, and reward yourself with something else that will make you feel good but won’t force you to backtrack on all the hard work you’ve done. Be kind to yourself during this process and remember it doesn’t happen overnight. Staying true to your goals and achieving them can sometimes feel just as good as indulging in a bad habit.
Lastly, it can be beneficial to remove triggers that could cause you to relapse. If you know you have a tendency to binge on sugary snacks, don’t keep any in the house. Replace these snacks with a healthy alternative so that when the time comes when you feel the need to binge, the only choice you’ve got is the healthy one. Good luck!