Breaking Bad Habits: 5 Effective Steps To Overcome Negative Patterns

If you are fully aware that something is bad for you, why is it so difficult to stop? 70% of smokers report that they want to quit. People who abuse alcohol or drugs struggle to break free of their control over their lives.

Many people carry unhealthy weight that could be lost if they exercised more and ate right.

Why do so many people have trouble overcoming these negative patterns?


Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are searching for the answer to that question. They study what happens in our brains while habits are forming.

They have discovered clues to why our bad habits are hard to overcome. They are working on strategies that will help us make changes we need to make in our lives.


Here are 5 effective steps for overcoming negative patterns and breaking bad habits:


1. Understand that success won’t be a straight line.

As you begin trying to change, you will find setbacks and bumps in the road. They are parts of the important process of developing lasting change.

You are your own worst critic, and you may view anything less than complete success as a failure.


It may help to take the perspective of a third person and react as you would to a friend trying to change, instead of yourself.

You would be reassuring and kind, rather than critical. Allow yourself the same treatment.


2. Make an achievable game plan.


Start your journey with a game plan you can achieve. Just thinking about change isn’t normally enough to overcome negative patterns.

Instead, use a journal – or your phone, or paper – and start with a plan.

Gain some introspection into the changes you want to make. Consider:
• What is your main goal?
• Why is that goal one you want to achieve?
• Can you set smaller goals to help you reach the main goal?
• What things trigger your bad habit?
• What setbacks do you foresee?
• What types of coping strategies can help you deal with your triggers and your setbacks?
• What type of support system is available for you?
• How will you be tracking challenges and progress?

3. Keep changes simple.

The reason it’s difficult to break your bad habits is that they are already automatic and easy.

New behaviors are harder to adopt. Your brain has not yet taken them on.

When you make your new goal behaviors simple, it helps in integrating them into your brain’s autopilot routines.

4. Practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness will assist you to develop an awareness of your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions.

Simply observe the impulses related to your bad habits without reacting to them or judging them.

As you develop awareness of your routine behaviors and those triggers that cause them, you can consider other available options, like not acting on your urges or avoiding cues that cause you to remember bad habits.

Practicing consistent mindfulness will also help you in noticing ways in which your habits affect your life on a daily basis.

As you begin recognizing those effects, it helps you to feel driven to change the bad habits.

5. Cut out your triggers.

Cut as many triggers as you can from your life. If you usually smoke when drinking, don’t drink alcohol.

If you eat whatever cookies you have in your house, throw them away. Make it easier to break your bad habits by avoiding whatever causes them.

Conclusion:

Once you have broken a bad habit, what’s the next step?

You need to plan to prevent any relapse. Bad habits are difficult to break, and it will usually take multiple attempts to change.

Remember to be compassionate with yourself, so you won’t give up when you encounter a setback or roadblock. That makes success much more probable.

How did you like this post? If you found this article helpful to you, you may want to share it with others by clicking the social networking buttons – Thank You!


Cheers, Helene Malmsio

Related Reading: Guide to changing bad habits

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