Everyone has bad habits to some extent. But the degree to which they affect our lives and the power they have over us can differ. There’s a big difference between someone placing a cube of sugar more than they need in each morning coffee, and someone who may have an always-acted-on impulse to bet on sports games, for example.
However, it’s also true that bad habits can be worked on, reduced, and eventually overcome. People who had less of a chance than you have overcome harder trials than you also, and it’s important to remember that when we feel like throwing in the towel.
But any counselling specialist will tell you that white-knuckling the reduction of a bad habit, while sometimes possible (like avoiding that extra cube of sugar), is not always healthy for many bad practices we have, and in some cases can lead to an even stronger return. So – how can we see off those bad habits for good? In this post, we’ll discuss all of that and more going forward:
Healthy, Rewarding Substitutes
When you stop a habit, you still have the momentum and desire that now has nowhere to express itself. This can be a problem. It’s why most often, replacing a bad habit with a good one is better than just stopping entirely. So for example, if you have a habit of smoking, then replacing that with gum or CBD vape pens can be a better stop-gap measure, and working with your health professional it may provide a more coherent outcome. Many people report that measures like this often provide reliable results. It’s also why you often see people who overcome very harsh difficulties, like active addictions become so passionate about alternative tasks like cooking. Take that energy and transfer it.
Write About The Habit
Sometimes, the reasons or impulses behind a bad habit may be unclear to you. It can be good to put your thoughts about it down on paper, especially if you need to consider your justifications for it or what it serves. If you have a bad habit of biting your nails, it might be because as a child you felt the effort of using nail scissors was annoying and cumbersome – but now you’re in adulthood, could you try and flip the script? Examining your behaviour may reveal something worthwhile to you, and posit a different direction to go in.
Give Yourself Space To Fail
Recovery is rarely linear, and so sometimes, you might fall back to where you started. The ideal is to pick back up with your positive change as soon as you can. So if you fail and eat many sugary foods after dinner despite trying to lose weight, that’s fine. Just don’t let it become a three-day or week-long binge. You can accept the loss and move on instead of thinking it defines you.
And of course, finally, don’t be afraid to seek help if you need it. Sometimes, the noblest and strongest words you could ever are ‘I’m struggling, can you help me?’
With this advice, we hope you can see off those bad habits for good.