I have both good and bad habits. I would really like to change that so I have only good habits. You may be feeling the same way. Our habits define our success. Not only do we desire to develop good habits, we want to squash our bad habits.
If you are ready to start, here is one plan to follow. Determine the habit you wish to break, then apply these 4 actions:
1. Define your “why”. Why is the elimination of this habit important for you? How will it change you? What will you do with the time and resources you save? Create a clear and strong desire to change. Without the internal aspiration and motivation, eliminating a habit will be nearly impossible.
2. Find a better substitute. What can you replace this habit with? Define your plan of action for when you are tempted. This can be as simple or as complex as needed. If you want to stop drinking soda, find something else to replace it, maybe green tea. If you want to reduce the time you spend watching television, use a different activity to unwind in the evenings, maybe reading. This is an opportunity to turn a bad habit into a good habit. Always substitute with something better.
3. Reflect each day on your progress and your purpose. This step cannot be skipped if you are going to succeed. Rarely is our initial desire to change strong enough for us to change overnight. The daily reflection process allows you to reinforce your desire to change. You can use it to determine if your substitute is working. You can continually invigorate yourself with your “why”.
4. Be persistent. We fail when we give up, not before. If you have a bad day, don’t give up. Keep going. To start, you need more good days than bad days. Eventually the good days will outnumber the bad days two to one, then three to one, then four to one, and so forth. Lack of persistence is the ultimate cause of all of our failures. Persistence will always win.
Just writing this article has me ready to tackle at least one of my habits. I hope you will join me in making your daily routine better. Pick a habit you are ready to kill, and let’s get started.