Habits are formed through regular repetitions of certain behaviours that then become automatic. Without you even realising, these habits actually takeover the subconscious part of your brain.
Habits are a combination of the cue, the behaviour, and the reward.
The cue is what causes the habit to come about; this then triggers the behavior, which eventually becomes habitual. The behaviour is the habit that comes to fruition, which leaves the reward being that positive feeling that this habit now gives you.
Habits can be subtle; they can influence our likes and dislikes. They can also have a powerful impact on your life, and your wellbeing. The best habits can bring amazing success, but at the same time the bad ones can leave you in a vicious loop of stagnation and un-fulfillment.
“Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but possibly the worst habit you could actually have.”
So how do you break habits?
The simple answer is that you have to find the cues that trigger the habitual behaviours and replace them. Notice how I use the term ‘replace’ not ‘remove’. This is because habits address certain needs you have in your life. Maybe you smoke when you become stressed, or eat when you’re bored. Removing these bad habits won’t help you deal with the problem at hand; instead you should look at replacing the bad habits with a healthier behaviour that will still address the same need. You may think that this is nonsense, and won’t make any difference, but if you don’t replace the habit and simply just remove it, your needs will be unmet and you will struggle to stick to a new routine, certainly over a longer period of time anyway.
You want to cut out as many of these cues as possible. For instance, if you can’t resist fast food when you walk past a take-away on your way home, then find another way home. For many, it’s never that simple though. Breaking bad habits takes time, effort and a whole lot of perseverance. You may try and fail a number of times before you actually succeed.
“Changing a habit or routine doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a little bit of time and may take easing into the change to make it work for you.”
The takeaway point here is to make it easier to break your bad habits start by not placing yourself in a situation which becomes too hard to resist.