Trying to break bad habits is HARD! Here are 3 practical psychology based tips that you can use to break bad habits and form good ones!

Trying to break bad habits is HARD. The nature of habits is that they’re so engrained they’re almost automatic… so how do you fix something you’re not even consciously aware of?!

Psychology Can Help

1. Replace The Bad Habit

Trying to quit a bad habit cold turkey is hard. Habits are formed through repetition and reinforcement and when we engage in a habit repeatedly, it becomes almost automatic. Just stopping doing something is hard because we're used to doing it and our brain craves the reward associated with it. By replacing the bad habit with a different behavior, we can still satisfy the underlying need that the bad habit was fulfilling, while also creating a new habit.
For example, if you always come home from work and grab an unhealthy snack from the pantry. While it might feel impossible to come home from work and not make a bee line for the kitchen, realize that you can still opt for a snack without it being super unhealthy. Prepare a post-work snack that aligns with your goals so you’re making it easy to make a better decision. You still get your snack, just a different one!

2. Increase Friction

When trying to break a bad habit, you want to try to make it as hard as possible to do that thing. Adding obstacles can help reduce bad habits that are often formed out of convenience.
Again with the snacking example; if you always come home from work and grab an unhealthy snack from the pantry; how might you make it harder to do this? You might try putting the unhealthy snacks on a high shelf in the pantry or even in a different room to make them harder (and less automatic) to grab.

3. Interrupt The Autopilot

Most bad habits require very little effort and therefore very little awareness. Simply increasing awareness of the habit can be an effective way to help curb it; but how do you do that? You need to turn off the auto pilot of your routine and increase mindful action. You can do this by switching up your normal routine.
Back to our snacking example; if you always come home from work and go right to the pantry, instead try not to head straight for the kitchen. Maybe go right upstairs and change first, go for a walk, or drink a glass of water. This is different enough from your standard routine to help you break the cycle of mindless habit adherence.

Remember, the habits that you’ve developed have often been cultivated from years of reinforcing that behavior. Give yourself some grace as you navigate the process of change; just like the habit wasn’t formed overnight, it probably won’t be broken overnight either. But if you incorporate some of these tips, you’ll have a much easier time breaking bad habits and forming good ones.

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