We humans are full of virtue and vice. Bad habit is a vice and we cannot eradicate that habit at ease. Instead we change the bad habits and move into new one. Now its your duty to make sure the new habit you are engaged is good for your health. So what is bad habit ? Bad habits are the ones where the person is involved in some activity that is not congenial to proper and healthy lifestyle. Most common example of bad habit is smoking. People get into smoking due to stress, some smoke to beat past time and some even claim to get motivation at work after having a smoke break from work.
So why is this treated as a bad habit? A habit cannot be bad if it is motivating someone to work hard and excel . The question lies here is smoking good for health ? The answer is negative. Smoking is always harmful . One has to curb down smoking habits. It’s not so easy as it sound. In fact any bad habit say for e.g. – excessive eating ,drinking is injurious to health. OCD i.e. obsessive compulsive disorder is also a bad habit. OCD is basically too fussy on some activity without knowing what activity one is doing.
#1 Resist Temptation
Bad habits are tempting . It requires immense power of mind to control your bad habit but if you ask yourself, is the habit good for you ? You will get the right answer. If your mind rejects the habit , you can eliminate the bad habit. Say for eg- one typical bad habit in current generation is checking mobiles, cell phones every moment. This is indeed a bad habit as this cannot let you focus on your work if you keep on checking mobiles every time.
Now don’t tell me , you cannot resist your self from checking the mobile. Its a simple yet needs tough will power to control your temptation to check the mobile. You can easily do this, this is no rocket science but your simple will power can help you lead a better life. Your life will not change if you miss the messages, missed calls from your friends. You can always call them, reply them back once you are off from your work.
#2 Get motivated by someone who has just eliminated his/her bad habit
If you come across someone who has got rid of bad habit recently, feel inspired and believe if they can do it, you can also do it. Avoid those toxic people who doesn’t motivate you when you try to discuss with them regarding your bad habit.
#3 Never get carried away by guys with bad habits
It is frequently seen that in office breaks, people go for smoke breaks and if you want to eliminate your smoking habit, you need to maintain stringent discipline. When you accompany these smokers in a smoking zone, it’s very easy to get carried away and if he lends you a cigarette, you should say no to them politely and your will power is tested here. If you don’t like to join, just don’t accompany them even if they are your co workers. You can go to some other place – for e.g. snack counter, fruit juice, milk shakes during the office break rather than standing in smoking zone with the smokers.
#4 Stop eating junk food
Who does not like burgers and fries? Everyone does but the fact is that these are junk foods. They taste nice, we become addicted to it and finally ruin our food habits. Having fast food is okay once in a while but if you are really health conscious, you must avoid them. Take salads and fresh fruit juice instead of fries or soda. You will see the difference in your eating habits.
#5 Replace the bad habit with something
Whenever you are trying to quit your bad habits, it is imperative that your mind will crave for those activities once you quit. Thus it is very important to add some good habit or activity in your daily life. You can replace smoking by having candy or chocolate, you can take mineral water or fresh fruit juice if you want to quit excessive drinking. I know it’s difficult but you can if you start inculcating new good habit like these. Read a good story book if you are addicted to games or television shows.
#6 Never calculate or count the number of days you stopped bad habit
It is easy to count the number of days you have stopped the bad habit. Never count as it might act a catalyst to tempt your mind to get back to your bad habit. You should not think of it at least for a month or more. Then you will gain your confidence and will be able to stop your bad habit. You can then quit it for good.
#7 Stay focused
Staying positive and focused should be the key to alter bad habits into good. It’s fine to falter. You cannot change your bad habits overnight. But little effort day by day and your determination and focus will definitely help you come out from the bad habits.
#8 Seek professional counselling
You may visit for professional help if things are going out of control. If you are addicted to some bad habit and that is heavily impacting on your life in adverse way, you must visit a therapist who can refer you to some good counsellors. Never neglect in such matters.
Conclusion
Bad habits are not so easy to get rid of but definitely can be done by strong will power and determination. Thus you can eliminate those bad habits and substitute with a new habit which should not be detrimental to your health as compared to the previous one. Good habits can be the productive hobbies which you can do during your spare time .
I love reading motivational posts, this is really insightful..
Thanks for sharing xo
always love a motivational post, i glad i find you x
can’t wait to see more.
Thank you Jess .
Hello!
It is very useful post! People do have bad habits, but I think when they know how to motivate themselves (reading your post) , bad habits can be changed to good ones!
Great!
TopBeautyWoman
Glad you found the article useful Michelle.
Great post, I agree 100% with your sentiments.
I quick smoking over a year ago, and even to this day I can find myself extremely jealous when seeing people smoking. That’s how you know it’s a bad habit. I’m like a child not getting to play with my favourite toy.
But still, my body thanks me.
My experience with bad habits is that at some stage they served a purpose – there was a positive payoff involved. So when I can replace that positive payoff with a new one, it’s easier
Well said Beth.
Good tips. Thanks for sharing.
Keyword…strong will power and determination. If we acknowledge the need to “break a habit”, then, those words along with inspiration from posts like this can help tremendously.
Thanks for sharing your inspiration!!
Great post! Perfect for a new year start!
Great points!
Surrounding yourself with inspirational people and seeking help are definitely effective ways to develop good habits. Great post!
I can’t agree more with your post. I am a strong believer that if there is a will there is a way. Bad habits are just things we are use to doing deep down we know 2hat is the right thing to do but we r not so motivated. Thank you for the post.
So much of this resonates with me (succumbed to not just one chocolate brownie this week but TWO). Great suggestions for overcoming temptation. The key thing for me is to have a Really Big Higher Purpose. Therefore, not just to stop eating brownies, but to stay healthy as I move into middle age. I want to maintain good mobility, not get sick, and not have to depend on regular medication for anything, because all this will help me enjoy life for as long as possible. I shall remind myself of that goal next time I’m ready to succumb to chocolate 🙂
Great tips! It can be such a struggle, but focussing on things that motivate you is so important!
Excellent tips, especially about finding someone who just eliminated a bad habit of their own. I always try to follow people who are bettering themselves, because the energy rubs off!!
Exactly Samantha. We feel motivated to follow people who are bettering themselves.