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How To Improve Bad Habits
Bad habits are hard to break. While some people may think they can change their bad habits right away, like becoming more disciplined and organized for instance, but in fact, it might destroy their current life.
That is why it is important to know how to improve bad habits.
If you didn’t know that How to improve bad habits then you might want to consider reading this article which will discuss ways to improve bad habits.
Identify Your Triggers
In order to change bad habits, you need to understand what triggers them in the first place. For example, if you find yourself eating ice cream every time you come home from work, it might be because of the stress of being at work all day.
Or maybe it’s because you’ve been working out and want a reward for your efforts.
When you’re aware of what sets off your bad habits, you can take steps to defuse those triggers so that they don’t get in the way of your progress.
For example, if you know that ice cream makes you feel better after a long day at work, then maybe you should try walking around the block or meditating instead of eating ice cream when you get home from work.
If meditation isn’t for you, then maybe taking a few deep breaths before heading inside is all it takes to keep from eating something unhealthy after a long day at work.
Focus On Why You Want To Change
You can improve bad habits by Focusing on why you want to change.
According to research from the University of Michigan, people who set goals for themselves and take time to reflect on their motivations are more likely to succeed than those who don’t.
“If there’s one thing that’s really consistent across these studies,” says study author Elliot Berkman, “it’s that people who set goals for themselves in a very specific way have greater success than those who don’t.”
Berkman says that when people write down their goals and reflect on why they want them, they tend to put more effort into achieving them.
Choose A Substitute For Your Bad Habit
It’s not easy to change your habits. But it is possible. To improve bad habits by Choosing a substitute for your bad habit, here are some tips:
- Identify the root cause of your bad habit.
- Develop a plan of action to eliminate this cause and replace it with something positive.
- Implement the plan gradually, so that you can adjust to the changes gradually as well.
- Be consistent in following through with your plan until it becomes a habit itself
The first step is to make a list of all the things you do that aren’t good for you. For example, if you’re trying to quit smoking, then write down all the things you do that involve smoking—drinking coffee, having a glass of wine or beer with friends, etc.
If you’re trying to eat healthier, then write down all of the junk food and sweets that you eat regularly.
Once you have your list, choose one item on the list that would be easiest for you to change right now. Then think about what behavior(s) could replace the bad habit on your list.
For example, if one of your bad habits is eating candy bars every day at work, then choose another snack option instead (like nuts). Or if one of your bad habits is spending too much time on Facebook and Twitter every night before bed, then choose an alternative activity instead (like reading).
Have A Better Reason For Quitting
According to a recent study, people who quit smoking because of health concerns were more likely to stay smoke-free than those who quit for other reasons.
That’s because a health-based reason for quitting is more powerful than an emotional one. In fact, it can even help you overcome your cravings.
“When you’re feeling temptation or stress, you can use that as a cue to remember why you want to quit,” said Dr. Alan Marlatt, director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington in Seattle and co-author of the book “Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors.”
Here are some ways to improve bad habits by having a better reason for quitting:
- Find what motivates you: If your goal is weight loss or fitness, then track your progress with charts or graphs so that you see how much weight you’ve lost or how many miles you’ve run. You could also post photos on social media sites as a reminder of how far you’ve come.
- Make it public: Tell everyone about your goal — this will make it harder for you to back out when things get tough because everyone will know if you give up quickly
Enlist A Friend’s Support
Improve bad habits by Enlisting a friend’s support
You’ve probably heard that saying, “Two heads are better than one.” Well, it turns out that two brains are also better than one when it comes to changing your behavior.
A new study finds that enlisting the help of a friend can help you break bad habits, such as smoking or eating junk food.
The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that people who have a buddy to help them quit smoking or lose weight had more success than those who tried to do it on their own.
Start Small
The best way to make a habit is to start small. So, if you want to improve bad habits, think about how you can do it in small steps.
When I started running in college, my first runs were only half a mile long and I would walk the rest of the way home from school. It took me weeks before I could run one mile without stopping.
Over time, those half-mile runs became one-mile runs and then two miles, three miles and so on. Eventually, I was running ten miles without stopping and loving every minute of it!
The same thing applies for other bad habits that you want to change. If you want to stop smoking or lose weight, start by making small changes in your life. For example:
If you smoke cigarettes, start by cutting down by just one cigarette per day until eventually you won’t need any cigarettes at all.
If you want to lose weight, start by walking a few extra laps around the block every night before dinner instead of watching TV or doing something else that doesn’t burn calories (or better yet!).
Set Better Goals
Setting better goals is a great way to improve bad habits. It may seem counterintuitive, but when we set goals for ourselves, we are much more likely to achieve them.
Why? Because when we set good goals for ourselves, we take ownership of our actions and their outcomes. When we do this, it helps us become accountable for our behavior.
We are less likely to give in to temptations or distractions because we know that they will lead us away from achieving the goals we have set for ourselves.
Plan your goals ahead of time
The best way to set up good goals is by planning them ahead of time. Take some time out of each day or week and think about what you want out of life and what changes you want to make in order to get there.
Write down these ideas as well as any obstacles that might come up along the way so that you can plan accordingly.
This will help keep your mind focused on the bigger picture and prevent you from getting sidetracked by daily stresses or other things that may take your attention away from what really matters most.
Change Your Environment
Changing your environment is a great way to improve bad habits.
The idea behind this method is that when you’re in an environment where you’re used to doing something bad, you’ll continue to do it, even if you don’t want to. By changing your environment, you can trick yourself into not doing that thing anymore.
Let’s say you smoke cigarettes. If you smoke while watching TV, then it’s likely that if you turn off the TV at night, you’ll stop smoking right away.
The reason for this is because when you’re watching TV, your mind gets distracted by all the interesting stuff happening on TV.
It’s hard to pay attention to what’s going on around you when there are so many things going on inside of your head as well.
But once the TV goes off and there aren’t any distractions anymore, your mind will go back down into its normal state of focus and start paying attention to what’s going on around it again — including what type of bad habit or addiction it was just participating in!
Motivate Yourself With Rewards For Success
Improve bad habits by Motivating yourself with rewards for success
Are you trying to break a bad habit? You can use the power of positive reinforcement to make it easier.
Bad habits can be hard to break, but they can also be broken with the right tools. If you’re trying to quit smoking, for example, you can use nicotine gum or patches to help wean yourself off cigarettes.
But if you let yourself have one cigarette in a day, you may find that it’s harder than ever to quit.
The same goes for other bad habits like overeating, spending too much money and procrastinating.
The only way to break these habits is by setting up a system of rewards for success along the way — and keeping track of your progress so that you stay motivated.
