We all have bad habits. Whether that habit is biting your nails or something more serious like smoking, it is completely normal and natural to have those habits that you rely on. When it comes to finding ways to break those bad habits, that is when a real challenge can present itself. The good news is that virtually any bad habit can be broken, and if you take the right approach and have enough will, you can often break that habit much quicker than you think.
With diligent effort, and a little patience, you can break that bad habit in just 30 days, and here are five ways that you can do it.
Acknowledge and Recognize
One of the biggest things that holds people back from breaking their bad habits is that they aren’t acknowledging the habit that they have and recognizing how bad it is. You need to be able to say out loud what your bad habit is and own that you tend to engage in this habit. This doesn’t mean defending it or covering it up with rationalizations. It means admitting that you are doing something harmful to yourself or others.
“I have the bad habit of biting my nails every time I’m bored.” It can be as simple as that. The more you recognize that you have this habit and that it is a problem, the easier it will be to kick the habit. This doesn’t mean saying “Sometimes I bite my nails, but it’s only when I don’t have nail clippers and it isn’t as often as what everyone else thinks.” It means owning up to what you are doing.
Isolate the Problem
Along with acknowledging that you have a problem, a great way to kick a habit quickly is to isolate what you are doing. This also, once again, means getting rid of the excuses. You have a bad habit, plain and simple, you don’t need to justify it. “I binge eat and I need to stop doing that,” is a great start. This is isolating the problem.
What is the opposite of isolating the problem? Saying “I binge eat because my schoolwork is stressful and my professor is unrealistically demanding.” This is telling yourself that it is not your fault you binge eat and that binge eating isn’t the problem. It is saying that your tough professor is the problem. You will never break a habit that way at all, let alone in 30 days.
Make a Measurable Plan
If you want to see quick results when trying to break a habit, then you need to have a plan. The more you plan things out ahead of time, the easier it will be to stay focused and stay on track. Make a plan of what you are going to do in order to break your habit. Write it out and make it measurable. If you are planning on quitting smoking, then by day 5 how many cigarettes do you plan on cutting from your normal amount?
If you have a plan then you can actually move forward and stay focused with how you are going to achieve your end result in just a month.
Replace the Habit
Virtually every study on habit breaking will tell you that the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit, and it typically takes around three weeks in order to turn an action into a habit. This is perfect if you want to take a good habit and replace it with a bad one. So think of a good habit that you want to start introducing into your life, such as drinking water and start doing it whenever you want to engage in your bad habit, such as eating candy. Repetition is key when it comes to making something a habit, especially a replacement habit, but if you are diligent, at the end of your 30 days chances are you are going to see those bad actions as being a thing of the past.
Reward Yourself For Your Hard Work
A huge mistake that people tend to make when it comes to breaking their bad habits, is that they spend so much time beating themselves up over their habit and anytime they reach a bump in the road. You aren’t going to quit a really bad habit cold turkey in one day. This is why your plan should be 30 days, instead of one. You will have setbacks, but don’t beat yourself up over them. Instead reward yourself for the milestones that you reach and the positive things that you do. Have you gone an entire day without chewing on your pen caps? Great job! Time to congratulate yourself for your accomplishment.
Keep these five approaches in mind when it is time for you to break your bad habits. There is no better time to start than now.