How to Change Your Unhealthy Habits
How to Change Your Unhealthy Habits
Each of us has some regular activity that we know it’s not good for us. Still, we do it because we conditioned ourselves into repeated indulging. That’s the power of habits, they can be used for good and bad alike. Although the bad ones are much easier to catch, due to their rewarding nature. For that reason, unhealthy habits are quite tricky to shake off. It takes a lot of effort in order to break the chains of unhealthy behaviour. Although each one of us has their own reasons for indulging into bad habits. The origin behind all that unhealthy behaviour is similar for everyone. Good news is. There are ways to quit unhealthy habits that are universal. In this article, we will try to point out all the methods that will help you deal with your unhealthy habits. Read on for some great suggestions on how to change your unhealthy habits.
Break the Ties
First of all, you have to be aware that’s your brain loves your unhealthy habits, and it will fight hard to make you continue doing them. That’s because your brain likes routine, especially the ones that provide it with pleasure. Therefore, the first step in quitting your unhealthy habit is identifying it’s not good for you. I know it sounds redundant. Many people indulge in their own unhealthy activities by reflex, without any thought about it. Most of them are not even aware of the health repercussions of their pastime activity. A good start to breaking the habit is to add a layer of awareness that what you do is not beneficial for your well being. That’s a solid foundation to build your further steps.
Substitutes
Focusing your will on changing your habits often isn’t enough. Because willpower doesn’t affect the pleasure effects of behaviour you’re trying to get rid of. What you need in that situation is a replacement activity that will serve as a surrogate for your unhealthy behaviour. Let’s take smoking as an example since it is one of the most widespread unhealthy habits. Most people smoke as a way to deal with stress. So, it is a bad idea to go cold turkey with cigarettes because you will inevitably relapse. The best way to get rid of a bad habit is by doing it step by step. By gradually changing it to a weaker substitute until your body stops craving its daily fix. For example, electronic cigarettes are a very popular substitute for nicotine sticks, and they’re much healthier, though not 100% healthy. Even better, it’s very easy to find cartridges for your vape machine in an online e-liquid shop. In order to change you need to slowly eliminate the need for your cravings from your subconsciousness and replace it with a healthy (or at least healthier) habit.
Find a Good Company
Most people indulging in unhealthy habits surrounded themselves with other people who enjoy the same behaviour. Or at least agree with it. Peer pressure is often an overlooked factor in maintaining unhealthy habits. Since it is very hard to break social ties with people who share the habit you’re trying to get rid of. It doesn’t mean you have to ditch your own company, but it is is good to branch out to people who are already indulging the behaviours that you attempt to include in your own life. Spending time with like-minded people can work as a prominent motivation to persist in turning your life for the better.
Breaking an unhealthy habit takes a lot of willpower and motivation. It also requires the right methodology in order to succeed. The most important trait this process requires though is perseverance. Progress is not a straight line, there will be ups and downs, and it’s very important not to quit at the first sign of weakness. Maybe you failed today, but one failure doesn’t mean you’re a failure. People who managed to break their bad habits never did it on their first try, so you need patience and tenacity to make it work.
