How do you break a bad habit? What negative habit are you ready to release?
Are you ready to understand what causes bad habits? Is there something you have been doing for years that you keep saying you will quit? Would you like to finally be able to let go of that thing you do that drives someone else nuts? Learn tips for breaking bad…habits.
The second part of this blog will be on October 10th. I’ll discuss how to change your bad habits.
This blog was inspired cause I thought Breaking Bad was an awesome show! One of my worst habits was drinking diet coke, which I lovingly refer to as diet crack. Think this stuff is evil. I had to stop it. I have drunk Diet Coke on and off for years and sometimes Coke Cherry Zero.
I also have a bad habit on too many snacks. I am better, but it’s still a struggle. Doing better in general with my diet and added weight lifting at the advice of the doctors. It’s a challenge when you’ve had these routines for years.
What causes bad habits?
Bad habits don’t come out of nowhere. Most of the time bad habits are a way to deal with stress and boredom. Biting nails like many do or wasting hours on social media or overshopping.
We only do something if we get some sort of benefit from it. Doing bad habits eases our stress or distracts us from a problem.
Most of the time we don’t get to the underlying reasons WHY we continue our bad habits. It’s been my experience that we have to get to the root of something before we can change it.
This means there may be other issues of abuse, poverty, and unemployment, so you need to take that into consideration and take those challenges into consideration when trying to break a bad habit. I feel like the heroin drug epidemic is a great example of this. Some people are stressed or bored and try heroin. It can be an escape from abuse or poverty. Until we clear out the clutter underneath and address those issues, IMHO the drug problem will continue.
We also don’t like to be judged so we rationalize our bad habits. Well, it was only one pint of Ben and Jerry’s. It was only diet coke every day for a week. At least I’m not as bad as ____.
Remember to be gentle with yourself during this process. It will take some time to build new, healthier routines.
Becoming aware of your bad habit.
First, there’s a cue or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold. Then routine of behavior becomes automated. You know I talk a lot about being on autopilot.
Become more aware of your bad habit. Here are some questions to ask:
When does it happen?
How often?
Where are you?
Who are you with?
What triggers the behavior?
I watched a documentary on the heroin habit in North Carolina and some of the ODs were because they fell back in with the crowd they were doing drugs with.
Contemplate the above questions so you can begin moving away from bad habits to healthier ones.
What are your bad habits? Why do you think you do them? How can you be more aware of bad habits?
DIY Options to Clear Clutter
Purchase Julie’s books on how to clear clutter from your life: https://reawakenyourbrilliance.com/shop/
Subscribe to Clear Your Clutter Inside & Out Podcast https://reawakenyourbrilliance.com/resources-concierge-services/podcasts/self-help-podcast/
Check out more of my decluttering tips and how to get organized on my YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/SeibertRadio?feature=watch