How many bad habits do you have? I have plenty that I want to get rid of. The problem is not a lack of desire. The problem is the ability to put it into action. Do you have what it takes to completely rid yourself of a bad habit this month?

I know one thing for certain. I for damn sure am going to try.

Back in high school. I had a teacher assign us that we were supposed to try one habit change for a month and do a write-up and presentation about it. The habit I decided to change and measure was drinking soda. I was going to stop drinking soda for a month. Cold turkey. At this point I was probably drinking one or two sodas a day. Dr. Pepper was my favorite.

I knew it wasn’t healthy and I decided what the hell, one month of quitting soda won’t hurt. So I did it. And the results were so great that I decided not to drink soda anymore. I noticed I had lost weight, my acne wasn’t as bad, and I even eventually grew to dislike the carbonation. It burned my mouth and throat. I grew to love water and tea after this.

What I learned from this is that it’s not that hard to quit a habit if you have something sticking you to it. And that the benefits can be huge. But, how does one go about quitting a habit? Especially a more difficult habit.

8 steps to quitting a bad habit

First, you have to want it. You have to be motivated to quit something. Nobody can make the decision for you. It is yours alone. So decide what you want to change and start working towards it today.

Second, you have to hold yourself accountable. Write your intentions down, tell a friend, tell everyone you know, put it on social media. Whatever it takes to hold you accountable.

Third, Keep a log of your progress. If you relapsed today that’s okay. No big deal, just start again tomorrow. But, be honest with yourself and write what your feeling and experiencing down in a journal.

Fourth, go streaking. Once you have started a streak towards ending your habit for however many days or hours at a time take pride in your streak and don’t let it end. This way it becomes harder to go back to the habit than to abstain from it. Just don’t let yourself go streaking in the wrong direction.

Fifth, Don’t be too hard on yourself if you fail. Learn from your mistakes and realize that failure is a necessary part of success. Just don’t quit trying. That’s the only true way to fail.

Sixth, get rid of cues for your habit. If for example your bad habit is eating candy get rid of the candy in your house and refrain from going to the store where you can buy more. Out of sight, out of mind.

Seventh, find a better substitute for you bad habit. If your habit is to smoke whenever you feel the urge to smoke, instead chew gum or sunflower seeds. Whatever works for you to keep from going back to your bad habit.

Finally, rewards yourself for quitting a bad habit. For example my uncle quit smoking by seeing how much money he would save and then with all the money he saved he bought himself the motorcycle he always wanted. You have to celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Rewarding positive behavior is a sure fire way to keep yourself motivated to your habit change.

My habit change

As for me I have decided that the bad habit I am going to change is biting my fingernails. It’s a nasty habit I know. I’ve had it since I was a kid and I’ve never really known how to quit. I am determined to quitting though. June 1st. I will not bite my fingernails even once. I promise you that.

Now it’s your turn

Now that I’ve shown you the steps to quitting a bad habit it’s time to jump into action. Join me and get rid of one of your bad habits today. You can do it I believe in you. You don’t have to choose your biggest bad habit either. Just start with something small to change. To start decide what habit you want to change and leave a comment on this post below and tell us what you’re going to change. Also, feel free to ask me for advice or support that’s what I’m here for.

For additional resources I highly recommend checking out James Clear’s website about habit change. His book Atomic Habits is amazing. https://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change

Like, subscribe, and share this post if it motivated you or if you can think of someone else who might enjoy this post. Thanks for reading and good luck!