Reshape Your Bad Habits

Reshape Your Bad Habits

What is a ‘bad habit’?

“A bad habit is a habitual behavior considered to be detrimental to one’s physical or mental health and often linked to a lack of self-control.” Some bad habits are smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, procrastination, etc.

We all know our bad habits, habits we would like to change, to cut and reduce. But what do we do about it? We ignore them – even if we know it’s bad for us – to not feel uncomfortable? We delay it for some other time because we might not have the courage for change? Or we try to rationalize our habits by devaluing their negative effects on us?

Whatever it is, the biggest part of not changing a habit is because we don’t pay enough attention to it. What’s the reward we get from our habits?  Let’s say I want to lose weight. I have to ask myself: “How do I feel when I’m not taking care of my nutrition?”

 “Do I have low energy and am I feeling tired because of my unhealthy diet habits? What sensations come to my mind? What urges or emotions?” All those questions are really important to ask ourselves to start the process of changing a habit.

Once we become aware of the habit, then we have to map the “habit loop ”.

• Where are you?
• What time of the day?
• Who else is around?
• What’s your emotional state?
• What action immediately preceded the urge?

So, when we truly identify what triggers these bad habits, then we can reshape them. Here are 5 things you can do to change your bad habits:

1. Bigger, Better Offer

A bigger, better offer part of the brain, as Dr. Judson Brewer calls it, is the orbital frontal cortex of the brain and it stores the relative reward value of things. That means, we give our brain the information on how unrewarding certain behaviors are, so we become less excited to do them in the future.

 It’s how we get from three cookies to one or none, he says.

“We use our awareness to notice that one cookie feels better than three. When I have three, I get an upset stomach, I feel guilty, I get a sugar rush, I crash, etc. So, there’s decreased value there. When I notice how good it feels to stop once I’ve had enough, to feel satisfied but not overstuffed, it feels pretty good. I start to break the habit of overeating by recognizing a bigger, better offer.”

• Change Environment

Changing your environment will make your transition to reshape your habits easier. Identify when it gets worst and change that. If you want to stop watching so much TV, for example, start by filling your daily schedule with more things to do. You may want to get a gym membership or join a club, or start reading books…you name it.

• Accountability

Accountability is crucial when you want to change your habits. Announce it to your family, your spouse, a friend, your coach and be accountable for that. When we are accountable to someone we don’t want to let down, we are trying our best to achieve our goal. For instance, what I’m doing with my clients is to write down one thing to improve and we review that once a week. That keeps us accountable to each other and also it encourages us to continue by feeling that we’re not doing this alone.

• Don’t beat yourself up

There will be times which will make us struggle with our effort of reshaping our bad habits. But it’s ok! We can’t change them overnight. It’s like a marathon: It takes time and effort. Keep on trying and always aim for the top.

• Celebrate

Acknowledge your small successes. Be proud and congratulate yourself. These small little things will give you fuel to your tank to continue your marathon.