WiseDollar

Why it is so important to get rid of a bad habit? 

A bad habit like smoking, excessive drinking, physical inactivity, negative thinking, etc can lead to more serious problems then you think. According to a report by NewsMax, 70 percent of the American population has at least one bad habit that could shorten their lives to a great extent. We all know that smoking tobacco is harmful to health but you will be surprised to learn that Sleep Deprivation has even more adverse effects than that.?

What Are Easy Ways to Break a Bad Habit Quickly?

1) Replace It With a Good Habit 

This is the easiest way to get rid of a bad habit. A bad habit is nothing but a quick fix. People try to fill the inner void with as sorts of illegal drugs and also with legal items like food, movies, toxic people, etc. Hence, instead of filling the inner void with something negative, replace it with good things like exercise, a clean diet, positive and successful friends, etc.

2) Use the Power of Accountability

If you find yourself relapsing and going back to your old habits, make sure you have someone to keep a watchful eye on you. Share the details about your bad habit with your friend or a sibling and ask them for help. In short, you need to ask them to be your accountability partner. An accountability partner is someone who will see that you do what you promised to get done. 

3) Be Honest With Yourself

Every addict knows where they are screwing up. But most of them fail to acknowledge the fact that they have a problem. It is very easy to ignore the problems in your life and continue to live as everything is fine. This is why you need to be honest with yourself. Accept that you have a bad habit.

4) Associate Pleasure With Pain

There is a reason you go back to your old habit. Even after promising not to relapse, something drags you back to it. Before you can get rid of a habit, it is imperative that you understand how addiction works. You are attached to your old habit because it gives you some sort of pleasure. What you need to do is learn to associate it to pain. For instance, consider doing five push-ups every time you feel like smoking.

5) Recognize the Patterns

All habits–whether good or bad–function in patterns. Your job is to recognize them so you can break the chain that leads you to your bad habit. For instance, if you are binge eater, it would benefit if you can identify the exact time of the day when you feel like overeating. Are you overeating during the day or you feel like eating a lot during and after lunch?

Is It Really Easy to Get Rid of a Bad Habit?

Honestly, no. It is not easy to get rid of a bad habit. Especially, when it an old one. It takes time for you to form a habit. Habit always gets formed with repetition. Hence, to get rid of, you need to re-program your mind–which takes significant time and effort.