How to Eliminate Your Bad Habits For Good

While everyone has bad habits, not everyone knows how to
recognize them or how to put a stop to them. During the self-
improvement process, it is vital that you find your bad habits
and work to end them before they keep you from having the life
you know you can have.

Make a List of Your Bad Habits

To start the process of eliminating your bad habits, you need to
know what they are. You might know about the big ones, such as
smoking or biting your nails, but there might also be some
smaller habits you haven’t considered. Get out your journal and
make a list of all habits, big and small, you can think of. As
you do this, try to envision your day from beginning to end and
what you do during the day. This can also help other bad habits
come to light. For example, you might press the Snooze button 5
times every morning before you wake up. This might be a small
habit, but it affects the rest of your day, from being late to
work, to increasing your stress levels.

Switch Bad Habits For Good Ones

Now that you have a good list started with your bad habits, you
can start getting rid of them. An easy way to do this is by
replacing the bad habits with good habits. For example, many
people who are trying to quit smoking keep carrot sticks in
their purse to munch on every time they want a cigarette. While
quitting smoking isn’t always so easy, it is a good example of
how to switch out the bad for the good. Here are some more
ideas:

Get a manicure regularly – This is great for the health of your
nails and can help reduce how often you bite them.
Keep your alarm away from your bed – Instead of having the alarm
within arms’ reach, move it across the room. When you physically
get up to turn it off, you don’t have a habit of hitting the
snooze button.
Don’t bring your phone in your room – When you are getting ready
for bed, keep your cell phone and other devices plugged in, but
in another room. This prevents you from losing sleep due to
checking your phone or watching videos at night when you should
be sleeping.

Try to Eliminate One Habit at a Time

It can become overwhelming when you are trying to stop all of
your bad habits at one time. If you have some bigger bad habits,
such as drinking a little too much or smoking cigarettes, stop
just one habit at a time. Start with the smaller habits, such as
always running late. Begin setting your alarm a little earlier
and creating a reasonable morning schedule to get you out of the
door on time. Once that becomes routine, you can move on to the
next one.

In addition to these tips for ending your bad habits, don’t
forget to reward yourself. This can be excellent motivation to
continue on a path to a better future.