When bad habits threaten your success, it’s time to change them. In an earlier article on perseverance and success, I mentioned that one of ways that the two meet is through knowing what your bad habits are, and choosing to change them.

What we might call “bad habits” are behaviors that we do as a result of choices we have made in the past, but no longer have a place in our present or future. They might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but over time have come to be more of a negative influence than a positive one. I don’t know about you, but I have a few bad habits that I know affect the level of success I have achieved. I also know that the only person who can do anything about them is me.

Fortunately, if you really want to make changes and let go of your bad habits, there are a few things you can do to make that process a little easier.

1. Make the commitment to change.

Change is hard. I don’t say that to discourage you, only to let you know that making changes is not the “walk in the park” that some people make it out to be. You deserve acknowledgement just for having the courage to change.

When you are making the commitment to change, you need to be sure that this is a change you really want to make. If you are doing this for any reason other than that you know deep in your heart the time for change is now, then chances are that ditching your bad habit will be harder than it has to be.

I know from when I tried to quit smoking, it took at least five tries before I was successful. When I tried to quit because other people wanted me to, or because it was a New Year’s resolution, it didn’t work. It wasn’t until I became committed to getting healthy and taking better care of myself just because I could, that I was successful at kicking that nasty habit.

2. Decide what the change will be.

When you are eliminating a habit, it’s often easier to swap a negative for a positive than it is to just stop. Quitting something without replacing it often leaves a hole where that habit used to reside, and you don’t always know what to do with yourself. That makes it much easier to slide back into the habit you are trying to eliminate.

Going back to my battle with smoking, the biggest thing for me in stopping was what to do with my hands. I was a chain smoker and had a cigarette in my hand from morning to night, even when it wasn’t lit. I tried everything from getting up to get a glass of water as a replacement to snapping an elastic band on my wrist as punishment when I wanted a smoke.

Neither of those worked for me, by the way. What finally worked was a plastic nicotine inhaler. I could hold it like a cigarette, and not even have to fill it. By the end of about three weeks of doing this I got so annoyed at having the thing in my hand I just put it away, and haven’t had a cigarette since.

The point I’m trying to make here is that you need to decide on an alternative action that works for you.

3. Start immediately.

Once you decide that you are going to eliminate a bad habit, don’t wait to get started. Waiting only gives you a chance to talk yourself out of making a change.

You can always work in small steps instead of going cold turkey if you think that will give you better results. The important thing is to get started, even if you’re only taking alternative action once a week in the beginning.

4. Tell people what you’re doing.

It’s important to have some sort of support system in place when you’re making any type of big changes. And lets’ be honest here — deciding to change your behaviour is one of the biggest changes you can make. You really shouldn’t try to do it alone.

If your family and friends will be supportive of your efforts, then by all means tell them what you’re doing. If they’re not, then find a coach or an outside support group that you with positive feedback and support. Sometimes just having someone to vent to when the going gets a little rocky is all you need to get you back on track again.

5. Keep a journal of the process.

Keeping a journal is a great help when you’re changing habits. It doesn’t matter what kind of habit you’re trying to change, writing down your thoughts about the process as well as your successful days and your not-so-successful attempts will teach you a lot about yourself.

For example, if you are trying to change an eating habit then you could keep a food journal where you write down everything you eat, how you feel when you’re eating it, what changes you made successfully, and what happened to make you want to slip back into your old habit.

Habits are essentially patterns of behaviour. Writing down as much information as you can about your habits allows you to see the patterns, and make the necessary changes. By the time you’re done, you will have a clear picture of where you started, where you are now, and how you got from one place to the other. This will make it a lot easier for you to change the next habit because you’ve already done it once!

Throughout your whole habit-changing process, keep one thing in mind: This will not happen overnight. Behavioural experts say that it takes a minimum of twenty-one continuous days to change a habit, so you will need to practice your powers of perseverance as well as your new behaviours.

Don’t give up. Making the decision to ditch your bad habits is step toward a more fulfilling, successful life. You deserve all the good that comes your way.

I wish you much success!

Photo Credit: Morgue File