Bad habits: We all have them

Nearly all of us have one (or more) bad habits that seem nearly impossible to break. Whether it’s wasting time, telling little white lies or any number of “small” things that seem to mount up.  However, we can overcome our bad habits if we make a decision to stop bad habits.  While this might sound basic, it’s not as easy as it might sound.

Identifying bad habits

First things first, you first have to acknowledge that you have bad habits. These could be small things, telling a little white lie to spare someone’s feelings, spending money foolishly, or smoking are a few of the habits that people get into. Unfortunately, left unchecked, bad habits often get the best of us.  In order to stop nurturing your bad habits, you first need to identify them. This is fairly simple, sit down and take a look at the things that you know are not doing you any good. Write them down, and be honest with yourself.

Take a look, what habits do you have that you wish you didn’t?  Could it be that you criticize your partner all the time or you speak without thinking and later regret your words? Or perhaps it’s something completely different, you’re impatient all the time.  Regardless of what habits you have, write them down.

Finding suitable replacements

Some bad habits are easier to break than others and some may be pretty near impossible to break. It’s a lot easier to  change basic behaviors such as being negative more often than not than say quitting smoking.  So the challenge that faces you is replacing a bad habit with a “better” habit.

A few examples include:

Impatience – If you are the type of person who gets angry when you’re delayed in a line at the bank or the market, you can decide that the time would be better spent working a crossword puzzle, browsing the newspaper or some other activity to take your mind off your impatience. Sometimes, just distracting yourself is enough to overcome impatience. Also, don’t make a habit of going to the store during very busy times or when you have a lot of other things to do.

Snapping at people – If you are the type of person who is critical of others, stop before you speak. Rather than making a demeaning comment, find something nice to say.  It could be as simple as complimenting them on their outfit, haircut or something they did that you became aware of. Remember that if you’re going to stop criticizing, you’ll have to find ways to praise the people you are being most critical of.

Keep in mind that developing better habits is not an easy task. This will be something you will have to work on every single day.  Make a list of the “good” habits that you want to develop and keep them where you can see them.  Practice your good habits on a daily basis for reinforcement.  Initially, it may not feel right to “practice” good habits, but in the long run, it will pay off.  

If you are the type of person who is influenced by others, take a look at the bad habits that the people in your life are nurturing. For example, if you are around someone who is negative all the time, you may find yourself being more critical of others. If that is the case, avoid this person (or people) until you have overcome the need to be or speak negatively about others.