Change Your Life by Changing Your Habits

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From the minute we open our eyes in the morning, our learned patterns of behavior propel us through each day. From infancy, you learned to be successful in many areas of life by practicing habits of excellence. Good for you!

Yet, in spite of your success in overcoming obstacles in your life, you may still struggle with at least one “thorn in the flesh.” For many of us, it’s a plain and simple, bad habit.

Answer “yes” or “no” to each of the four questions below

Has someone asked you more than once to stop doing it?
Is it a problem for someone else that you know well?
Does it adversely affect your health?
While doing it, do you continually thinking about it?

If you answered, “Yes,” to at least one of the above questions, you are stuck in a bad habit.

Breaking a bad habit is challenging. The longer you’ve done it, the harder it is to break the obsession.

There is good news! You can change your bad habits. Then, see how much better your life will be!

Read on.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR HABITS

1. Awareness.

It’s obvious. Bad habits are usually apparent to you and the people around you. But sometimes, there is this thing called “denial.”

You’ve taken the quiz above. You answered, “Yes,” to a question. Still not convinced? Talk it over with your loved ones. They will tell you the truth. Believe them.

2. Acknowledge.

Own up. Admit to yourself and someone close to you, “I have a problem. I want to stop doing this.” But please, do not stop here.

After acknowledging the problem, you must commit to change. Nothing can happen if you never commit yourself fully to making a change.

3. Arrangement

Develop a plan. Avoid following fads and “hearsay” advice. Educate yourself with information from professionals. Healthcare professionals, clergy, journals, books, and support groups will suggest safe interventions for you.

Begin changing your most damaging habit. By committing to change, you have already made a 360-degree turn away from the bad habit. After you experience success, then you can move on to the next issue.

4. Application

Practice your plan. Your success will happen by replacing unhealthy habits with healthy habits. Some examples: pausing before speaking, drinking water instead of snacking on chips, walking in place instead of sitting through the entire television show.

With the above steps, you are not merely using all your energy to quit something. You applied your energy into starting something new and changing your life for the better.

Online Resources

James Clear. How to Break A Bad Habit (and Replace It With A Good One). http://jamesclear.com/how-to-break-a-bad-habit.
WebMD. 3 Easy Steps to Breaking Bad Habits. http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/3-easy-steps-to-breaking-bad-habits

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