It seems simple to be able to categorize our habits into either being good or bad and then only act on the good ones. But doing this is easier said than done. While we all have some bad habits a lot of people continuously resolve to change an undesired behavior to try to improve their lives- and frequently fall short. This can be because fixing bad habits is difficult since they are wired into our brains by constant repetition. And especially when the bad habits are pleasurable because then they cause the pleasure centers of our brain to be active and that creates those craving that makes it even harder to start fixing your bad habits.
But don’t worry, although fixing bad habits is hard it can be done. Habits are patterns of behavior and we can fix our bad habits by breaking the pattern. To break the pattern it is important to recognize why you have this pattern in your life. Is it an emotional trigger from stress, is it environmental and situational, it a combination of both or is it something entirely different?
What are some examples of Bad Habits?
Stress eating: Perhaps the most common, stress eating has nothing to do with hunger. It occurs when you are unhappy, stressed, disappointed, or anxious. It can act as a way of filling emotional voids. But the comfort of this behavior is temporary.
Repetitive negative behavior and thoughts: Having negative emotions is normal. Only perceiving the world, yourself, and the relationships of those around you through a pessimistic lens is a bad behavior pattern. Do you catastrophize (assume the worst possible outcome), have polarized thinking, or only focus on the negative sides of situations while ignoring the positives? Then one of your bad habits may be that you are negative.
Negative Behaviors:
Things like nail-biting, smoking, excessive drinking, watching too much TV or always being late are all bad habits that are fixable.
Any tips for fixing these?
The first step is to be aware and define the behavior pattern that you want to break or the pattern that you want to develop. The second is to break things down into specific and reasonable behaviors. Instead of committing to ‘no longer procrastinating’ commit to starting that to-do list first thing on Sunday morning, or starting work the second you finish your cup of coffee. Make small manageable goals, and once you routinely achieve them then you can increase the difficulty.
Identifying the triggers is also very important for fixing your bad habits. Being aware of why you have a specific behavior pattern. Is it because of boredom, an emotional trigger, or anxiety? It’s true that identifying a trigger is very difficult, so try working backward. Where are you when you show the behavior patterns of your bad habit? What are you doing? How are you feeling? Take note of your surroundings and thoughts leading up to the behavior to notice what the trigger may be.
Now that you know your triggers try to figure out ways to make yourself pause when you experience them. That pause can help you not engage with your bad habit. Are you stressed? Don’t reach for the cookies in the cupboard, take a few deep breaths and relax. You can also develop a substitution behavior and engage in that.
Remember that fixing bad habits is hard. It’s okay to slip up, but it’s not okay to give up. So when you slip up, forgive yourself and keep trying to make progress. Figure out why you do what you do and develop management strategies to alter your behavior pattern.
