How do I Break Bad Habits?

Studies have shown that over 90% of our daily activities are out of habit. Humans are creatures of habit, which is a helpful ability in many ways.

Imagine, for example, having to think about how to brush your teeth or how to climb the stairs.

We do these things without even thinking because they’ve become habits. In this sense, habits are good because they free our minds from having to think about every little thing we do.

The problem is when we develop a bad habit. You won’t even realize bad habits can gradually destroy your life.

Habits are hard to break. But if you want to break a habit, one rule is to design your environment so that it becomes impossible for you to fall into that bad habit.

For example, I wanted to get into the habit of using an electric toothbrush instead of a regular one. If I kept both toothbrushes on my bathroom vanity, guess which one I’d reach for every time? Yep, the regular one.

It was instinctive. Although I knew I wanted to use the electric one, my mind would immediately tell me, “Why trouble yourself? Why make me think? Just go for what you’re used to.” (Now you understand why people stay in their comfort zone!)

Then, I hid the regular brush and left only the electric one on my vanity top. Suddenly, getting the regular brush became more complicated than reaching for the electric one under my nose and using it. I did that for a month; guess what: it became a habit.

Although the above is a simple example, the principle is the same as breaking any habit. It’s what expensive rehab centers do. People pay thousands of dollars to go into rehab, and there the environment makes it impossible for them to keep practicing their habit.

But why do most rehab treatments fail in the long run? Because most people leave the center and return to the old environment and circumstances that lead them back to their old habits!

So, if your habits define your life, identifying and replacing your bad habits with good ones is one of the best investments you can make.

Outsmart your lazy mind by redesigning your environment and circumstances to make it impossible to keep your old habits and force you to do new things instead. Stick to it for at least 40 days (a magic period for forming a new habit), and you will be free from that old habit.

“Sweep” out what keeps you in the same old routine and renew your mind. You will see how amazed you will be with yourself for overcoming the same old routine and bad habits that you acquired over time. There is a quote that says,

“The best thing I did for myself was UNLEARN everything I thought I knew.” (Unknown)