The Power of Good & Bad Habits- How It Can Change Your Life

I listened to James Clear’s audiobook “Atomic Habits“ recently about proven ways to Build Good Habits and how to Break Bad Ones.  It resonated with me as I’m constantly searching for anything that helps with self-improvement, self-love, and just living a better life overall.  Anyone looking to try to improve on habits that can actually STICK.  This was a good read. 

Being able to understand how habits are formed, why they exist, and how to usurp them positively into our lives is key.  You know I love a good scientific explanation: I read somewhere that HABITS are very powerful as they create neurological cravings.

Certain behavior is rewarded by the release of “pleasure” chemicals in the brain after a repetitive behavior or routine is developed.  When we commit to positive, healthy habits, the “feel good” element is apparent, we are able to make better decisions and stay on track.  Especially when we reward ourselves at the end of every habit. 

For example, I don’t like to exercise, my brain knows this for sure!  However, I know that it is a healthy habit and a good routine to follow.  To keep me motivated, I reward myself with a flavored smoothie or even flavored water that I love after a good workout.  My brain looks forward to that!  I am all for any behavior that improves my physical and mental health.  Aren’t you? 

We all have bad habits.  We know it’s not good for us, be it physical or mental.  Like fidgeting, not sleeping enough, even smoking.  We know we should stop, but … it’s so hard and sometimes we feel powerless against them.  They control our thoughts and even our well-being.  Here’s how changing bad habits can change your life:

• Change one bad habit at a time 

According to Charles Duhigg, author of Power of Habit:  “if we try to change everything at once, it can be very destabilizing.  Think of change as a project.  If it’s a behavior that is really important, changing it will have a huge impact on your life.  It may be frustrating if you have ten habits you want to change, thinking it may take eight or nine months to change.  It is worth spending a month to change one behavior permanently“.

Just change one bad habit at a time, give it a month, then move onto the next. 

• Don’t change you. Change your Environment

We engage in habits because of “triggers” in our environment.  If we make these triggers more difficult to attain, if we remove the things around us that are causing the temptation, we are less likely to engage in the behavior.  For example, I have a bad habit of picking up my phone as soon as I wake up every morning. 

To replace it with a good habit of journaling instead, I cover the outlet with my bed’s headboard and I leave my phone on the opposite side of my bed on another charging port.  Make the bad habit harder to begin and you’re less likely to engage in it.

• Be in the presence of  people who will influence your positive habits

If you hang around people who are counter-productive and not ambitious, then you will tend to be the same.  Research shows that you develop healthy habits and even career goals if you are in a group of people who have the same aspirations. 

Remember a habit is something we do regularly without thinking much about it.  It is a mental and behavioral activity.  Let’s make good habits INTENTIONAL, like exercising every day, surrounding ourselves with positive people, reading constantly, drinking water daily, making time to meditate or pray, eating less sugar, decluttering and cleaning your home often, appreciating friends, loved ones, and just people in general, practicing gratitude, even brushing your teeth twice a day.  These habits can make for a happier and more productive life. 

I know it is easier said than done.  We make a list of things we would like to change and then LIFE happens.  That commitment goes to the bottom of the barrel and we can’t stick to it.  Don’t beat yourself up, give yourself time, decide what you want to be changed first, and go for it! 

Even if you think it’s the most minute of all – it is significant.  It is YOUR life.  Creating habits that you WANT to improve, having willpower and determination will make life less stressful. 

Will you be creating or committing to new positive habits in your life?  Are you letting go of bad habits?  I’d love to hear from you.

XOXO

“And once you understand that habits can change, you have the freedom and the responsibilty to remake them”

CHARLES DUHIGG