Rants Corner 
If there’s one universal trait human beings have in common, it’s bad habits. From the little things like biting your nails to the big ones like procrastination, we’re all guilty. But thankfully, these inevitable patterns can be improved on.
In other words, you can break up with bad habits for good. However, like anything worth doing in life, you have to be intentional about it. Also, it’s important to understand what habits are to conquer the stubborn unwanted ones.
Here we go…
What’s a Habit?
Simply put, a habit is a loop of activities or behaviours that are difficult to stop. It is the art of consciously and unconsciously building a routine or lifestyle and are made up of reminders, routines and rewards. Reminders are the triggers or cues to do something, while routines are the cycles of doing it. Lastly, a reward is the effect or result you get from the act.
What’s a Bad Habit?
A bad habit is referred to as having negative behavioral patterns. Examples include minute things like cracking your joints or biting your fingernails to major stuff like drunk driving and negative self talk.
Now that we’ve got that covered, let’s get to the solutions!
Check out 5 simple steps on how to break up with a bad habit…
1. Identify Your Triggers
This involves recognizing the different elements that make up the bad habit. You can start by answering questions like where it happens and what time it does. Equally, asking yourself about the feelings you experience from doing them and if anyone around you contributes to it helps to dissect it.
2. Find Out Why You Want To Get Rid of It & Focus on That
The easiest way to do this is to write down a list of reasons why breaking the bad habit can be beneficial to you. Think of the valuable results waiting on the other side of the habit and put them down in a journal or your sticky notes to serve as reminders. This way, you know what you’re working to gain.
3. Replace It With Something Else
Basically, find another habit for your bad habit! For instance, if you’re a smoker, and you’ve identified that you take a puff when you’re bored, try looking for something new to try out like cooking. Consequently, this distracts you from your go-to bad habit and leads you to a whirl of curiosity with the new one.
4. Practice Mindfulness
When it comes to self-development, the art of self-awareness is a must. It allows you recognize and observe your thoughts, feelings and actions. Through such practices, you get to understand the why’s of your bad habit without judging them. You’d start realizing that you can do better and start taking the baby steps towards it.
5. Ask for help
Lastly, taking the control back from a bad habit involves asking for help if you have to. To clarify, if you need professional support or a friend to motivate you or keep you accountable, you can.
