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Kick Bad Habits for Good! Get Your Life Back on Track!
Whatever health goals you are trying to accomplish can be ruined by bad habits.
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These can include the chocolate bar you have every day at the same time, those couple of beers after work or the cigarettes you smoke when you are stressed.
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A big part of achieving all of your aims is by kicking these bad habits and replacing them with something which is better for your physical and mental well-being.
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This will obviously take a lot of willpower as habits become habits for a reason. The moment you take something away, you begin to realise how much you miss it.
Though there is no one surefire way to break bad habits, there are a few things that you can do to get you on the road to success.
Prepare for Discomfort
The first thing that you need to accept is that you’re not going to be able to achieve your goals without a certain degree of discomfort.
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You have to accept that your mind is going to become your number one enemy.
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While it will be screaming at you to slip back into bad habits, you need to have the strength to resist and push on towards success.
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Obviously, this is not a one-off and will be a constant battle. If you go in with the right attitude and clear goals of what you want to achieve, you significantly increase your chances of success.
Create A Plan
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Okay, so you’ve prepared yourself mentally, now it’s time to actually create a tangible plan.
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Start by setting yourself clear goals and the steps you need to achieve them.
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If the habit you want to break is spending too much time sat watching the TV, limit yourself to a certain amount of exposure per day and replace the other time with physical activity.
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If you want to eat less chocolate, your first step may be to clear your supply out of the house.
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You need to set yourself clear deadlines, otherwise it is likely you will keep putting off what you need to do.
Scale Back
Quitting everything all in one go may work for a short period of time, but it is unlikely to have a lasting effect.
For example, people looking to quit smoking often use nicotine patches or e-cigarettes as a go between. If this is the option you have chosen, there is also vaping, although only time will show any the long-term ramifications, if there are any. So do exercise discernment and caution.
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If you are looking to eat healthier, you will have a much higher chance of success if you afford yourself the occasional treat. Remember, it is all about having realistic goals in mind that you can stick to.
Establish Incentives
People tend to be a lot more receptive if they know they are working towards something.
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If you are trying to lose weight, create a chart showing your progress so far and how much further you need to go to achieve your aims.
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Ultimately, it’s much more rewarding if you can actually see the fruits of your labour. Maybe your incentive could be a trip that you are planning to take that you book once you have achieved a certain goal.
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It’s all about finding ways to replace your bad habits with good ones.
Maintain Your Goals
If you don’t constantly keep on top of your goals, you are much more likely to slip back into bad habits.
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If you have recently achieved something, don’t let your enthusiasm and drive drop. Set yourself a new goal and work towards achieving this one.
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Celebrate how far you have come but remember that it will feel even better when you achieve the next one.
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If you’re struggling for motivation, list all the reasons that you wanted to kick your bad habits in the first place. Ultimately, these should outweigh the temporary satisfaction of slipping back into them once again.
Avoid Temptation
The first step is to clear everything out of your own home that is likely to cause temptation and lead you back into bad habits.
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As well as this, you also need to think about the other factors in your life that have caused these habits. Often, they are stress-related, so try to find some ways of managing this pressure.
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Exercise is usually a good way but there are others like meditation or yoga.
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A lot of the time, bad habits are the result of some other root cause to try to identify what this is and change it.
Join Forces
As the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. Goals are much easier to achieve if you have someone else to support you.
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If your bad habit is not getting enough exercise, a motivated workout buddy can drag you out on the cold dark nights when you really don’t feel like exercising.
If you start to feel like you are about to slip back into your old ways, talk to them and they may be able to help pull you through. As well as holding each other accountable, you can also celebrate each other’s victories.
Visualise Success
Picture yourself as you want to be in the future and don’t lose sight of that person. Imagine the happiness that you will experience and it will keep you on that road to success.
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Remember that you don’t need to completely transform who you are as a person. You are simply sanding off some of the rough edges and bringing out the best in yourself.
Remember It’s a Journey
Like all health and fitness activities, breaking bad habits is an on-going journey and not something you are going to manage to achieve overnight.
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And just like a journey, the more you keep going, the closer you will be to where you want.
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Recognise that you are bound to have ups and downs, and don’t let the lows damage the highs.
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Breaking any bad habit is going to take a great deal of determination and perseverance. However, the rewards will ultimately be worth their weight in gold.
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