Breaking Bad Habits for Positive Change

Breaking Bad Habits: A Practical Guide To Positive Change

Why is it so difficult to overcome bad habits when we know we may harm ourselves or others? For example, we know about the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively, and overeating. Breaking bad habits can be achieved, but first we must understand more about why we continue to hold on to these habits when we know better.

Our families, friends, and others are impacted by secondhand smoke and the effects of alcoholism. We want to begin breaking bad habits for positive change, but the short-term pleasure makes quitting or changing habits challenging.

Here, we’ll explore the psychology that causes us to form habits and how to make positive changes to break bad habits.

About Habits Challenge

Our repetitive actions become habitual and are a normal part of the human state. Habits can be beneficial, such as taking a shower or exercising. On the other hand, regular use of illegal drugs, for example, can become a bad habit. Habits can also form when pleasurable things prompt the brain’s “reward” center, leading to unhealthy routines like gambling or overeating.

Eventually, the habit becomes an automatic behavior without consciously thinking about it, and it can be difficult to stop. Developing new habits is challenging since the brain retains automatic behavior.

Still, you can eliminate bad habits with patience and commitment by trying the following practical strategies for positive change.

Identify Your Bad Habits and Triggers: List the habits you want to change to improve your well-being. Don’t try to change all your habits at once. Instead, choose the highest priority habit that you want to change and focus on it. This will increase your chances of success.

Think about what triggers the habit and explore options for avoiding it. For example, assume that you are stressed after work each day and find that drinking alcohol helps you to relax. However, you’ve gotten into the habit of drinking excessively and are concerned about your health.

In that case, you can learn techniques such as meditation to help you relax. Ensure that you take short breaks during the workday to practice meditation. This will help you to cope with stress better. After work, when you feel the urge for a drink, substitute it with exercise, such as a brisk walk to help you unwind. Your goal is to reduce or remove the trigger and substitute the bad habit with a good one.

Be Willing to Accept Some Discomfort: Changing habits is complex and can make you anxious and agitated. Recognize that these are normal feelings; they are temporary and will diminish with time. If you feel discomfort, do something that relaxes you; it’s a distraction and will help you to feel better. Consider going for a walk, reading, playing a game, calling or visiting a good friend, or taking a short nap.

Adopt a Positive Mindset: We all have an inner voice and unconsciously have negative thoughts at times that are discouraging or detrimental to our well-being. You may think, “I can’t do this,” or “I’ll never kick this habit.” Be aware of these thoughts and replace them with positive self-talk such as “I can do this” or “I will do this.”

Be Kind to Yourself: You’re human; it’s essential to forgive yourself if you backslide while trying to break a habit. Give yourself credit for your efforts thus far. Rather than give up or put yourself down with negative self-talk, you can pick up where you left off and get back on track. Remember to be aware of scenarios that trigger the habit and either avoid or substitute the behavior with something positive.

Breaking bad habits and making positive changes in your life requires a combination of self-awareness, strategic planning, and persistence. Here’s a step-by-step guide you can follow:

1. Identify the Bad Habit

Self-Awareness: Reflect on your habits to understand what you’re doing and why. Pinpoint specific triggers (e.g., stress, boredom, or specific environments).
Understand the Impact: Consider how the habit is negatively affecting your life—whether it’s your health, productivity, relationships, or emotional well-being.

2. Set Clear and Specific Goals

Define the Positive Change: Replace the bad habit with a positive behavior (e.g., swap late-night snacking for drinking water or reading).
SMART Goals: Make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Instead of “I want to be healthier,” say, “I will walk 30 minutes daily for the next month.”

3. Start Small and Focus on One Habit

Avoid Overwhelm: Focus on changing one habit at a time. Start small, as success breeds success.
Break Down the Habit: If it’s a large habit, break it down into smaller, manageable steps.

4. Find Your “Why”

Motivation: Understand why you want to break the habit. Link it to a deeper, emotional reason (e.g., wanting to be healthier for your family or to feel more energetic in your business).

5. Replace the Bad Habit

Substitute with Positive Actions: Rather than just trying to quit the habit, replace it with a healthier behavior. For example, if you tend to procrastinate, use that time for a productive but enjoyable task.
Create a Reward System: Celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Reinforce positive changes by rewarding yourself for progress.

6. Change Your Environment and Routine

Remove Triggers: Avoid situations, environments, or people that encourage the bad habit.
Create a New Routine: If your bad habit is tied to certain times of the day or specific routines, intentionally design a new routine that avoids temptation. Changing my morning routine helped me to be successful with my intermittent fasting practice.

7. Seek Accountability

Get Support: Share your goal with friends, family, or a mentor who can encourage and hold you accountable.
Track Your Progress: Keep a journal or use an app to log your success and challenges.

8. Practice Mindfulness

Stay Present: Develop mindfulness practices (e.g., meditation or deep breathing) to become more aware of when the bad habit is creeping back in.
Pause and Reflect: When you feel the urge to engage in the bad habit, take a moment to pause and think about whether it aligns with your goals.

9. Be Kind to Yourself

Acknowledge Slip-ups: Don’t be too hard on yourself if you revert to the bad habit. Learn from the experience and move on without guilt.
Practice Self-Compassion: Recognize that change is a process, and setbacks are part of growth.

10. Stay Consistent and Patient

Consistency: Habits take time to change. Research suggests it can take anywhere from 21 to 66 days to form a new habit. Stay patient and committed.
Long-term Mindset: Think of habit change as a long-term journey. Even small improvements can add up to significant transformations over time.

How to Apply These Steps to a Specific Habit You’re Working On,
for Maintaining Long-Term Consistency

Maintaining long-term consistency when breaking bad habits and building positive ones requires a strategic and mindful approach. Here are some tips to help you stay consistent over time:

1. Build Gradually

Start Small: It’s easier to stay consistent with small, manageable goals. If the change is too big, you risk burning out. Once the small habit is ingrained, build on it.
Layer Habits: Focus on one habit at a time, and once it’s part of your routine, gradually add new habits to reinforce the positive momentum.

2. Create a Routine

Anchor Your Habit: Attach your new habit to an existing routine or time of day. For example, if you want to meditate daily, tie it to something you already do, like brushing your teeth.
Consistency Over Perfection: Do your best to stick to a routine even when it’s not perfect. Aim for “never miss twice” — if you skip a day, make sure you get back on track the next day.

3. Use Visual Cues and Reminders

Create Habit Triggers: Use reminders, sticky notes, phone alarms, or apps to prompt your new habit. For example, set a reminder to drink water every hour if hydration is a goal.
Visual Progress: Use a calendar, journal, or app to track daily progress. The satisfaction of checking off each day can motivate you to continue.

4. Use the Power of Identity

Shift Your Mindset: Focus on becoming the type of person who embodies the habit you’re building. Instead of saying “I’m trying to exercise,” say, “I’m the kind of person who exercises daily.”
Positive Self-Talk: Reinforce your identity with positive affirmations and self-talk. Believe that you are capable of change.

5. Anticipate and Plan for Obstacles

Recognize Triggers: Identify potential challenges and make a plan to deal with them before they arise (e.g., how to maintain healthy eating habits when traveling or stressed).
Prepare for Setbacks: Acknowledge that setbacks are normal. Have a strategy in place to get back on track quickly rather than giving up completely.

6. Reward Yourself

Celebrate Small Wins: Acknowledge every small victory along the way. Rewards could be as simple as taking a relaxing break or treating yourself to something special.
Make It Enjoyable: If possible, make the habit fun or enjoyable. For example, if you want to exercise regularly, choose activities you actually like, such as dancing or hiking.

7. Accountability Systems

Buddy System: Find someone with similar goals or who can hold you accountable, whether it’s a friend, mentor, or coach.
Public Commitment: Sometimes sharing your goals publicly, whether on social media or with family and friends, can provide external motivation to stay on track.

8. Reflect and Adjust Regularly

Periodic Review: Set aside time weekly or monthly to reflect on your progress. Ask yourself what’s working, what’s not, and where you can make improvements.
Be Flexible: If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to adjust your approach. Adapt your strategies as you grow and as circumstances change.

9. Create a Long-Term Vision

Focus on the Bigger Picture: Regularly remind yourself of the long-term benefits of your new habits and how they align with your personal or professional goals. A clear vision can motivate you through challenging moments.
Visualization: Practice visualizing your success and how the habit will impact your life in a positive way.

10. Use Habit Stacking

Link New Habits to Existing Ones: Habit stacking involves linking a new habit to a current habit. For instance, after you pour your morning coffee, you could immediately do a 5-minute meditation. This helps to integrate the habit into your routine naturally.

11. Mindset Shifts for Long-Term Success

Embrace the Journey: See habit change as a continuous process rather than a destination. Celebrate progress over perfection, and remember that every effort counts.
Develop a Growth Mindset: Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. When faced with difficulties, remind yourself that persistence and effort lead to improvement.

12. Habit-Tracking Tools

Use Apps or Habit Trackers: There are various apps like Habitica, Streaks, or even a simple journal to help you keep track of your habits and stay consistent.
Review Progress Weekly: Each week, assess your performance, celebrate achievements, and pinpoint any areas that need improvement.

Consistency is key in breaking bad habits and building positive ones. With patience, resilience, and a commitment to incremental progress, you’ll be able to sustain long-term success.

Setting Up a Plan to Track and Reinforce a Specific Habit You’re Working On

Here’s how to set up a plan to track and reinforce your habit of focusing on script and screenplay writing for at least one hour daily:

1. Set a Clear Goal

Specific: Your goal is to write or focus on your script or screenplay for a minimum of one hour every day.
Measurable: Use time spent as a measurable factor—track how long you write each day.
Achievable: Ensure you can fit this hour into your daily routine without overwhelming yourself.
Relevant: The habit directly aligns with your creative and career goals.
Time-bound: Focus on completing this habit daily, aiming to build a streak.

2. Break It Down

Start with a Small Commitment: Begin with the commitment of one hour, but don’t feel pressured to write perfectly. Focus on the act of showing up and writing anything, even if it’s not your best work at first.
Designate Writing Time: Choose a specific time of day that works best for you to ensure consistency. Whether it’s in the morning or evening, pick a time you’re least likely to be distracted.

3. Track Your Progress

Daily Tracking: Use a habit-tracking app like “Streaks” or “Habitica,” or a simple journal to log your progress. Mark each day that you complete one hour of focused writing.
Visual Progress: Place a calendar or habit tracker where you can see it and check off every day you complete the habit. A visual streak can be motivating as it builds.

4. Use Habit Stacking

Attach Writing to Another Routine: If you already have a consistent habit (e.g., drinking coffee in the morning or after a workout), use it as a cue to start writing. For example, after your coffee, immediately start your writing session.
Routine Anchoring: Write at the same time and place every day to train your mind that it’s “writing time” when certain cues appear.

5. Reinforce with Rewards

Daily Reward: After each writing session, reward yourself with something small, like a cup of tea, a 10-minute break, or a favorite snack.
Weekly Reward: At the end of each week, if you’ve hit your goal, treat yourself to something larger—maybe a movie night, a new book, or some time with friends.

6. Set Short-Term Milestones

Weekly or Monthly Goals: Set goals like completing a specific number of scenes or writing a certain number of pages in a week or month. Breaking the project down will help keep your momentum.
Milestone Rewards: Celebrate reaching each milestone, such as completing the first draft of a scene or writing consistently for 30 days.

7. Minimize Distractions

Create a Focused Writing Space: Choose a quiet, distraction-free environment. Silence your phone, log out of social media, and block distracting websites during your writing time.
Use the Pomodoro Technique: Work in short, focused bursts of 25 minutes with a 5-minute break. After 4 Pomodoros (100 minutes), take a longer break. This can help keep your focus sharp.

8. Accountability

Public Accountability: Consider telling a friend or joining a writing group where you can share your daily writing goals. This can help keep you on track.
Writing Buddy: Find a writing partner who also wants to stay consistent. You can check in with each other for motivation and feedback.

9. Track and Reflect Regularly

Daily Reflection: Spend a few minutes at the end of each writing session reflecting on what went well and what could improve. Did you focus? Were you productive?
Weekly Review: At the end of each week, review your progress. How many hours did you write? What did you accomplish? Make any necessary adjustments to your plan for the following week.

10. Plan for Obstacles

Prepare for Busy Days: On days when an hour feels impossible, aim to write for at least 10-15 minutes. Even a small amount of progress is better than skipping entirely.
Dealing with Blocks: If you feel creatively blocked, use the hour for brainstorming, outlining, or revising previous scenes. The key is to spend time engaging with your script, even if it’s not active writing.

When we repetitively practice behaviors, good or bad, those behaviors become habits. The habits that are bad for us are challenging to overcome. However, we can learn how to identify the triggers that make us indulge in our detrimental routines and then avoid the trigger or substitute it with positive behaviors such as exercise or enjoying a stroll in the park.

Along the way, if we backslide, we must remain positive and persistent and keep trying. In the long run, by trying the preceding tips, you are taking a practical approach to making positive changes in your life.

I’m USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Connie Ragen Green, working daily to break some bad habits and embrace new ones for positive change in my life, and
working closely with others to do the same.