A Psychotherapist’s 3-Step Method For Giving Up Bad Habits via @forbes https://t.co/HfDiTC4tuR
— Better Blokes (@BetterBlokesNZ) April 8, 2020
1. Write down a list of reasons why.
Of course, you most likely already know the reasons why you should give up your bad habit.
Balancing your emotions with logic will improve your decision making and help you resist those urges. One great way to do this is to write down a list of all those reasons you know you shouldn’t do something. Be sure to include on the list all of the ways you will feel better if you don’t do it.
2. Create obstacles for yourself.
So the second method for giving them up is to make them harder to get. The difficulty of doing this can vary according to your situation. For instance, if you are giving up drinking and smoking, then don’t keep either thing in the house, and don’t go to bars.
3. Come up with a personal mantra.
Your list and the obstacles you’ve created still won’t be effective, however, if your mind is filled with self-doubt. It’s hard to resist when your own brain is tempting you to cave in. You might be telling yourself “I deserve this guilty pleasure” or “A little taste won’t hurt.”
Develop a mantra that will help you drown out the thoughts that try to talk you into making bad decisions.