Habits may make or break us, influencing our daily actions and even how we feel about ourselves. Making resolutions for the new year is similar to trying to kick a bad habit or addiction. We set a goal, make the necessary preparations to achieve it, and work hard to maintain it. So why do most attempts to break unhealthy habits and make New Year’s resolutions fall flat?
Reduced strength and willpower to resist temptations as a result, our motivation typically wanes, causing us to give in to the past and stop thinking about our ambitions.
As easily abandoned are hopes of crossing the finish line. Let’s say you wish to start eating more healthfully. You begin eating fruits and vegetables each day for the first two days. Someone brings doughnuts into the office on the third day. Can I have one please? One doughnut won’t hurt since you have been doing so well, right? You only need to accept that one donut in order to subsequently accept ice cream and then accept pizza as a late-night snack. You are fine with having the doughnut because you are still eating healthfully at other times and you are eating vegetables.
This is not how goals are accomplished or new habits are created.
When you feel at ease in your surroundings, cave-ins are all too easy to make. You give up trying to achieve a goal because it seems unattainable or because you are content with anything that is between where you are now and the objective you are attempting to achieve.
Most likely, you are not giving up because you set your goals too high; rather, you feel like giving up because you have not determined the best course of action for accomplishing your goals. Though changing a bad behaviour may take longer than creating a good one, you are actually gradually breaking the bad habit while changing the good one. To break negative habits and develop new, lasting ones, set a goal and follow these steps.
Make Baby Steps Toward Establishing Patterns
Patterns don’t emerge overnight. A pattern or an activity taking on a habitual quality takes time to develop. Assume you drink occasionally (at least once per day) and that your long-term objective is to abstain from alcohol entirely. It is simpler and more effective to restrict yourself to smaller drinking patterns rather than stopping drinking abruptly and putting yourself at danger for withdrawal. It is simpler to follow and easier to track how well you are progressing in your goals when you set little targets, such as allowing yourself one drink with dinner today rather than a drink with every meal. You can now continue your journey.
Refrain from giving in to temptations that encourage your bad habits or addiction.
It’s much simpler than you might believe to resist temptation. When you place yourself in familiar settings where your triggers are present, you contribute to your addiction or bad habits. There are countless enjoyable things to do; you are not restricted to a bar or a drug to enjoy yourself. Be open and truthful with your friends if they try to coerce you into drinking or using drugs with them when you are trying to sober up. Good friends will support you in reaching your goals rather than holding you back.
How much do you want to succeed in kicking a bad habit and establishing a good one? Make use of that fortitude to resist temptations. Additionally, certain people make us give in to our tendencies. The easiest method to stay away from whatever triggers these individuals may produce is to stay away from them and their influence. Beyond sight, beyond memory
Put new, similar habits in place of your old ones.
You may quickly replace a bad habit by finding something that is similar to it. If your only options are to give in to your habit or maintain homeostasis, your habit will probably have an impact on the decision you choose. If you have two options—one new and one old—you have a better probability of choosing the new option since it will raise you above where you were before and help you develop a positive habit.
For instance, a drug user is more likely to use drugs when under stress than a non-user who chooses to cope with stress without them. When they use drugs, they reach a higher point than they did before, but when they don’t, their stress level stays the same. Instead, if you have a choice between using pharmaceuticals or taking a walk to relieve stress, you might choose the walk because it is likely to relax your body and mind and improve your mood.
Try a new non-alcoholic beverage if you often consume alcohol when you go out with friends and want to stop. Even though you continue to appreciate holding things in your hands and tasting nice drinks, this time you won’t be falling in to a terrible habit. As you begin to swap out your poor decisions for better ones, you’ll probably reach for the better option without even thinking about it!
Love yourself
The key to breaking the bonds your addiction or poor habits have tied you to is loving yourself.
You won’t feel the need for your habit in your life until you learn to live without it. Take charge of both your body and mind. You are in command now that the bonds have been freed. You’re liberated.
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