Do you have a bad habit or two? We all do! We spend too much time on our phones, or we don’t eat as healthily as we want to, or we don’t go to bed at the right time each night. These are all habits we’ve fallen into that aren’t that great for us, but when you think about them, they don’t feel all that harmful.
Because of that, there’s a lot of bad habits in life that go unnoticed and have a lot more impact than we really think. This can sometimes hit us in the face during hard times, and when we get through it and have time to breathe again, we promise ourselves we’re going to make that much needed change!
However, when it comes down to it, putting time and effort into habit restructuring is one of the hardest things in the world. It’s difficult to change the way you live your life, even in small ways, and there’s a lot of pressure in making this kind of difference. You might feel you’re not trying hard enough, or you may fall back into the habit without even realising!
But we’ve got some good news for you right now. Healthy habits can be hard to build, yes. Once you’re through the building portion of developing a habit, though, they’re just as effortless to maintain as the bad ones you’re determined to bust.
It’s just getting through that initial stage that’s going to take energy. But that’s something we can help with; check out the points below to find out a bit more about how a bad habit becomes a healthy one.
Discover the Core of the Habit Itself
So, what made you develop the more unhealthy habit in the first place? Where did it come from? Or if that’s too difficult a question right now, when did the habit first start? If you can remember this, you may be able to think about what else was going on in your life at the same time.
Answering these questions will allow you to discover the core of the habit itself. Addressing this can make it much easier to bust the habit and create something better for your overall wellbeing.
After all, you know where it came from and why you needed it at the time. You can also think about how your life has changed in the meantime, and whether or not you really need this habit anymore. And remember, if your mind is crying out for something different to do, it’s a good sign you’re ready for a bit of change!
Replace the Habit with Something a Little Less Harmful
This is a crucial part of the habit development process, but it’s something a lot of people skip over when they want to change. Indeed, many people think going ‘cold turkey’ is best, and try to cut things out of their life completely all in one go. However, doing this will make it a lot harder to keep your new habits sustainable.
It’s why vape pens are available for anyone looking to quit smoking, and anyone who is trying to cut down whilst still needing a hit of nicotine can buy ZYN Cool Mint flavour pouches. These are healthier for your body, but can still provide that boost you need whilst you’re working on reducing your exposure to things like smoke and tobacco.
Investing in these in between items are great for ensuring you’re ready to move onto the next stage of creating a healthy habit. That’ll help you keep going on your current path, which can then give you a much more positive outlook on what you’re going through right now.
Don’t Rush Yourself into Changing
The more you rush, the more you’re going to feel like giving it up and going back to the habits you’ve relied on in the past.
Say you do want to start getting up earlier in the mornings, when you’re used to rising around midday – you’re not suddenly going to be able to get up at 6am. You’re going to need to phase your wakeup time backwards bit by bit, and slowly get to the point where you feel able to rise at a time like this.
That usually means spending at least a week rising at 11am instead, and then 10am the week after that, and so on and so forth. Give yourself time to get used to the new alarm and get into the habit with some repeated action. Move too quickly here and you might just set yourself back to square one without even realising it.
Get Some Support
You don’t need to try and restructure your habits on your own. You can ask other people in your life to try and help you with the process. For example, having an accountability buddy who will check in and see where you are, as well as support you through the changes by giving you a place to talk about it.
Now this may sound out-there, but if you really want to make a change and you’re sick and tired of never quite managing it, taking accountability may be the only thing that’ll really help. Having an accountability buddy there to help keep you on track will provide you with a bit of moral and mental support, but make sure they’re someone you trust.
Be as Realistic as Possible
The goals you set need to be ones you know you can hit time after time. The smaller the goal, the easier it’s going to be to achieve, and the longer the satisfaction of hitting your goals is going to roll. You need this feeling right now, to ensure you stay motivated to make a change, and a big goal is far less likely to keep that coming.
Being realistic often means giving yourself a proper time frame, and even underpromising the thing you feel you’re going to be able to do. When a goal is kept small and grounded in reality, the steps between the goals you’re setting will also feel smaller and much more natural.
You won’t balk at the idea that you’ve got something massive on the horizon, because you’ve already done most of the work bit by bit, and you’ll actually be ready to give the next step a try. That’s true realism in action and it’s very good for you.
Don’t Talk Down to Yourself
Negative self talk is quite the common thing, because we’re all our own harshest critics. However, the more you talk to yourself in this manner, the harder it’s going to be to ever feel like you can make a meaningful change.
You’re setting yourself up to fail from the get go by applying this sense of internal pressure, especially if you never share the thoughts with any others around you.
Make every effort to try not to talk down to yourself. This may even be the most important thing at a time like this! The way you talk to yourself and hold yourself in esteem will affect just how much you feel like you’re really making progress.
If the voice inside is always telling you that you haven’t done enough or that you’re a failure for not managing that one thing, you may try to cut the thoughts out by simply not giving a healthier habit a go at all.
Remember, Habits are Habits for a Reason
If you’re finding it very hard to break a bad habit, and/or replace it with another one, remember what a habit really is. It’s something you fall into time and time again because it’s an easy thing to carry out, and that’s why so many habits are usually negative in nature. Good habits, on the other hand, need some active practice before they turn into second nature.
Putting this practice in is a conscious thing, and the sooner you realise how that works, the better the mindset you’re going to approach habit changes with. You’re not here to turn your life around, but even the smaller things will need you to be in the zone and giving it your all.
Keep this in mind as you go on, and don’t forget what you’re tackling here. Habits are habits for a reason!
Bad and Healthy Habits: What to Keep in Mind
So, you want to change something about the way you live your life, but you’re not sure how manageable it’ll really be? It’s a common problem, but that means it’s one we can help with. If you need a bit of positive, workable insight into habit changes, make sure you keep the points above in mind.
And remember, changing habits is always going to be difficult, but you’re not incapable of making it happen. Be kind to yourself, take your time, and go for harm reduction as much as possible. The more progress you make, the closer you’ll be to actually living with the habits you really want.
Thank you for reading.
