Break The Chains Of Habit Unlock Your Potential

There`s nothing intrinsically wrong with habits; everyone has them. Some are rather practical; for example, you may automatically turn off the lights when you leave a room or lay out your clothing for work the night before. However, other habits—like biting your nails, consuming caffeine too late, or repeatedly pressing the snooze button—might not be as healthy. It can be challenging to break bad habits, mainly if you`ve been doing them for an extended period. However, it can be made easier if you know how habits start in the first place.

Determine Your Stressors

Recall that the initial stage of forming a habit is identifying triggers. The first step to breaking your repetitive habits is figuring out what causes them. Remember your habits for a few days and look for any patterns.  

Take note of items such as: 

1) Where does the routine conduct take place?

2) At what time of day?

3) How does it make you feel at the time?

4) Are there other participants?

5) Does it occur immediately following another event?

Suppose your goal is to give up staying up beyond midnight. Following a few days of behavior tracking, you discover that you usually stay up later if you start watching TV or talking with friends after supper. However, if you read or go for a walk, you go to bed early.

You stop watching TV on weeknights and turn off your phone by 9 p.m. It is more challenging to maintain the habit of staying up too late when the trigger is removed, such as watching TV or spending time with friends. 

Pay Attention To Your Motivations For Wanting To Change

Why do you wish to alter or quit a particular behavior? According to research from the 2012 Trusted Source, it could be simpler to alter your behavior if it will benefit or be valuable to you.  Think about why you want to stop the habit and the advantages of making the change for a few minutes. Enumerating these justifications can inspire you to consider a few that have yet to occur.  Put your motivational reasons on paper and post it somewhere you`ll see it frequently, like your bathroom mirror or fridge, for extra inspiration.

Looking over the list can help you stay focused on the change you`re trying to implement. Your list is a helpful reminder to keep trying even if you revert to the old behavior.

Recruit A Friend`s Assistance

If you both want to, try to kick an undesirable habit jointly with a friend or significant other.  Suppose you both wish to give up smoking. It can be challenging to control your desires on your own. Relentlessly quitting alongside a companion won`t eliminate the desires. However, if you confront them with someone else, they might be simpler to handle.

Make It A Point To Support One Another During Obstacles And Celebrate Each Other`s Victories

If a buddy has no habits they would like to break, they can still be of support. Think about sharing your attempt to break the habit with a reliable friend. When you`re doubtful, they can support you and gently remind you of your objective if they see you reverting to your previous behaviors.

Engage In Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness can make you more conscious of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To engage in this practice, you must observe impulses related to your habit without passing judgment or responding to them. It might be simpler to think of other possibilities, such as ignoring reminder cues or resisting the desires, as you get more conscious of these habitual actions and the triggers that cause them.

Change The Habit By Adopting A New One

Instead of just trying to stop the undesirable behavior, you can find it easier to break a habit if you replace it with a new one.

Let`s say you want to give up eating candy at work when hungry. If all you do is try to avoid the candy dish, you may be reverting to the behavior when hunger strikes. However, if you bring a Tupperware of dry fruit and nuts to your desk, you have another snack alternative.

The urge to stick to the new pattern grows as you repeat the new behavior. The incentive to continue the new behavior may eventually win out over the desire to stick with the old one once you start reaping the benefits of it, such as increased energy and a decreased sugar crash.

Remind Yourself Of Things

When something prompts your habit behavior, stickers, sticky notes, or other visual reminders can help you reconsider the action. 

End Words

Reducing a habit is a difficult but attainable task that calls for commitment, tolerance, and self-awareness. People can effectively change ingrained patterns by putting a variety of tactics into practice, such as identifying triggers, substituting new habits for old ones, and asking friends or professionals for support. Recall that obstacles are a normal part of the journey and that perseverance is essential. Anyone may break free from undesirable behaviors and start along a path toward good change and personal development with dedication and an active mindset.