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Quit Bad Habits It is not so much the how to, but the incentive to quit bad habits that will make the difference.
We have all got bad habits that we would like
to quit. Some might be more noticeable than others and some, like
smoking or overeating,
might be life threatening.
Whichever way you look at it, bad habits, no matter
how big or small are darned hard to quit.
How to quit bad habits is a multimillion
dollar industry. Just think about how much money is spent on quit smoking
or weight loss programs. Next time you go shopping take a look at the
products available to help you quit biting your nails, and you will see what I
mean. If breaking bad habits was easy the industry wouldn't exist.
Well-meaning friends are
always quick to offer advice; I mean how hard can it be? You are overweight,
just eat less. Problem solved.
The truth is, you don't need
to be told why the habit is bad for you. You know all the reasons why you
should give up your bad habit, so all the well-meaning advice goes straight over
your head. It would be much more helpful if people were more positive
about the advice they gave. It is more important to know about the positive, up
side of stopping the bad habit. Thinking about good results
is more likely to
trigger an incentive to quit.
If knowing the reasons why a
habit is bad for you, or the advantages of giving it up were all that was
needed, you would have given up the habit long ago. What is needed is the
will power to make it happen, but how do you get that?
Incentive is what you need and
I don’t mean that you could save money if you gave up smoking, that is just
another up side to giving up the habit. What I mead is something new, some
angle that has not occurred to you before, a moment when the light goes on.
It is often surprising what
triggers the incentive to quit bad habits. Here is an interesting example. I have
just read a story about a young woman who put on
so much weight she was
virtually a recluse. At a size 26 she was clinically obese ,and age 20 unable
to enjoy life. The incentive came when her boyfriend told her that he was sick
of leading half a life. He didn't worry about her weight, he just wanted
them to get out and enjoy life. That was the trigger. She loved him and
wanted him to be happy, so she started a serious
weight loss program. Of course
she wanted to lose weight for herself, but the incentive was never there.
Her boyfriends wish for them to enjoy themselves provided that incentive.
Bad habits that are well entrenched are always
going to be difficult to quit, but it's amazing what results people can achieve
when something triggers the incentive. Years ago I knew a woman aged thirty who
had bitten her nails all her life. One day she saw me apply cuticle cream to my
nails. I had just got engaged and was wearing a diamond ring, so was giving my
nails extra care. She had also become engaged but was embarrassed about her
nails which were bitten to the quick. She purchased some cream, applied it
every day and set a goal to have long nails by her wedding day. She could have
stopped biting her nails at any time, but it was the wedding that became the
incentive.
Reason's are not incentives;
reasons why a habit is bad for you is not going to make you quit. Find an
incentive and you will stand a chance. Of course this doesn't mean you
should carry on with a bad habit until an incentive presents itself. You should
always be trying to give up, especially if the habit is damaging your health or
well-being.
Once you've decided to quit
bad habits, avoid telling friends and family. Especially if you've
tried giving up before and failed. If you do feel the need to share, make
sure it is someone supportive, you don't need others to gloat if you slip up.
Take a good look at your situation and work out
a strategy for dealing with it. Smokers for instance say smoking gives them
something to do with their hands; by keeping their hands busy they can lessen
the need to light up so often.
Everyone deals with bad habits differently; as
far as solutions go one size does not fit all. Finding an incentive that will
work for you is the key to correcting bad habits
Remember, you're always too young to start a bad
habit and never too old to quit bad habits.
Written by Trish Powell
Back to Healthy Lifestyle Tips Articles
This site is not intended as a medical reference site. The information it contains is general, not specific to individuals. The material on this site is not meant to take the place of diagnosis and or treatment by a qualified medical practitioner or nutritionist. A qualified practitioner should be consulted before starting any diet or exercise regime, as well as for serious or long-term health problems. copy rights ©Moonstone Publishing 2000-2012 |
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