Like any other person, I’m sure you have some bad habits that you know are terrible but can’t seem to break them. Trust me, I understand the struggles because they are severely real. These bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals and doing something good. These habits can affect your health, both mentally and physically. If we know that these habits are bad, then why do we still do them? More importantly, how can we break them?
So, we know that these habits that we have are indeed bad, but what exactly causes these habits in the first place? Most of these habits we have are caused by two specific, yet common, things: stress and boredom. We’re college students, of course we have many moments where we’re stressing out about homework or exams. There’s also quite a lot of times where we’re sitting around, staring at our friends or even a wall, trying to find a cure for our obvious boredom and nothing comes to mind, so we decide to do these activities that turn into bad habits. Everything from procrastinating, to biting your nails, splurging on a shopping spree when you know that college itself can break your bank account, to drinking on the weekends, to even wasting time on the internet when you know you have more important things to do can all be simple responses to stress or boredom. Sometimes, these bad habits are caused by deeper issues that can be tough to think about, but if you plan on being serious about breaking these habits, you have to be honest and open with yourself. Recognizing the causes of your bad habits is the key to overcoming them.
Eliminating bad habits will probably be one of the hardest things you will do in life. They became habits for a reason, whether they are good or bad. These habits somehow benefit you, even if they are bad for you in some ways. These habits extend to smaller ones as well. For example, opening up your phone every time you receive a notification can make you feel as if your connected, but at the same time constantly checking your phone every second you get a notification can prevent you from being productive, divides your attention, and can even stress you out. If you’re like me, you feel the need to do this because you don’t want to feel like you’re missing out, and so you continue to do it despite the negative impacts it can have on your time. These bad habits can be so imbedded into your life because of the “benefits” they provide that they aren’t so easy to eliminate. Here are some ways to break a bad habit that I find to be very helpful:
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Choose a better habit to substitute the bad habit that can also provide the same benefit. To follow through with this, you’ll need to form a plan that will help you respond better to stress or boredom.
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Cut out as many triggers as possible to keep you from continuously doing these bad habits. Make it easier on yourself by avoiding everything that causes the bad habits. For example, if you have a problem with constantly checking your phone while your doing something important, turn it on Airplane mode or even turn it off until you complete your tasks.
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Surround yourself with people who live the way you strive to live. This doesn’t mean you have to cut off the friends you have now, but don’t completely close out the option of making new friends who live the way you want to.
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Use the word “but” to overcome negative thoughts. Breaking bad habits isn’t always easy, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, every time you slip up, finish the sentence with “but” and make it positive.
It may be tough to break away from bad habits, but don’t count yourself out for struggling! Anything can be overcome with hard work and dedication. Make the process as easy as possible, and you’ll be well on your way to doing better in life!