How to change bad habits

Saying Goodbye to Bad Habits

Before you can stop a bad habit, you have to first figure out why you’re doing it. Are you bored, frustrated, anxious, sad or depressed? Are your bad habits triggered by certain events in your lifestyle?

For example, do you overeat when you sit down to watch television or bite your nails when you’re nervous or anxious? Only after you’ve identified why your bad habits are taking over your life (or at least making you miserable and keeping you from enjoying as much of life as you could) can you wage an effective war with them.

To realize the pinnacle of self-development for this year and beyond, you’ll need to begin working on the bad habits you identify as being negative forces in your life and start to change them. Begin by writing those habits down on paper. Then, you’ll be able to develop the strategies that will help rid them from your life.

The strategies will vary from habit to habit. You may need help from a doctor or counselor to quit a cigarette habit, drinking or gambling. And when you discover that certain triggers are actually causing the bad habit, you may be able to quit it cold turkey by avoiding the triggers.

Remember that old habits die hard, and you may have to endure a few setbacks before you’re successful.

Knowing Your Triggers

Triggers that help to promote and prolong bad habits are sometimes difficult to identify. If all you had to do was connect a habit with a situation, place or whatever constitutes a trigger for you, quitting a bad habit would be easy.

Unfortunately, that’s why we have so many industries that make their money from bad habits – such as smoking, alcoholism, hoarding or gambling. Breaking bad habits just isn’t easy for most people.

Some bad habits are especially difficult to break because they’re “hidden.” When you experience jealousy and experience it often, it’s probably something you think about more than act upon.

But, it’s still a bad habit - and one that’s most likely affecting relationships and how you interact with others. Once you understand that your subconscious mind is promoting these disastrous thoughts, you can use mind control techniques to oust them – and your subconscious mind will eventually get the message.

The longer you’ve had the bad habit the longer it may take to get rid of it. Think of it like a diet plan -- the more weight you’ve put on, the longer it will take to trim down your body. You can also reduce bad habits in stages and gradually train your mind to get rid of the thoughts a little bit at a time until they won’t bother you again.

You’ll want to avoid “trigger” situations that promote the bad habit for the first days, weeks or even months until you feel that you can handle it on your own. If you’ve ever begun a diet plan, you’ve probably avoided your favorite calorie-laden restaurant or having lunch with friends.

It’s been proven that the more friends you have at a luncheon, the more likely you are to indulge. Putting yourself in the way of a trigger situation when you’re trying to get rid of a bad habit is a bad idea.

After you’ve built your confidence for awhile and practiced replacing bad thoughts and actions with positive ones, you will have created new behavior patterns that will help you resist temptation.

Changing for Good:

A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Positively Forward [Paperback]

How many times have you thought about starting a
diet or quitting smoking without doing anything
about it? Or lapsed back into bad habits after hitting
a rough spot on the road to recovery?

To uncover the secret to successful personal change, three acclaimed psychologists studied more than 1000 people who were able to positively and permanently alter their lives without psychotherapy.

They discovered that change does not depend on luck or willpower. It is a process that can be successfully managed by anyone who understands how it works. Once you determine which stage of change you're in, you can:

# create a climate where positive
change can occur
# maintain motivation
# turn setbacks into progress
# make your new beneficial habits
a permanent part of your life

This groundbreaking book offers simple self-assessments, informative case histories, and concrete examples to help clarify each stage and process. Whether your goal is to start saving money, to stop drinking, or to end other self-defeating or addictive behaviors, this revolutionary program will help you implement positive personal
change . . . for life.

THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE HAS
FOUND THIS PROGRAM MORE THAN TWICE AS
EFFECTIVE AS STANDARD PROGRAMS IN
HELPING SMOKERS QUIT FOR 18 MONTHS.

The Habit Change Workbook:

How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones [Paperback]

Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Personal Lifesaver!, March 8, 2002
By Patty E. Fleener "Webowner - Mental Health Today" (Oregon)
This review is from: The Habit Change Workbook: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones (Paperback)
I am the webowner of Mental Health Today.

This excellent workbook will teach you how to deal with behaviors such as nail biting, skin picking, trichotillomania and addiction in regards to shopping, tv, internet, and gambling.

Also focuses on changes in sleep habits, health & fitness, and relationship problems. They state the book can assist with obsessive compulsive disorder with further help.

For chemical dependency issues, you are advised to seek professional help first and then use the workbook for overall lifestyle changes.

This workbook could not have come at a better time for me. I've been working out for 6 months and out of the blue it is no longer fun and I'm now beginning to gently slide into my old workaholism pattern.

I know that my old gym schedule needs to be changed and at the same time my work load at home has increased dramatically and I feel lost on how to organize my life and get myself motivated to get back to the gym and fight my workaholism.

The workbook comes with just exactly what I need. Help in changing my thoughts and requires me to come up with a plan of action. For me, it has been a lifesaver and the timing could not have been more perfect. I recommend it!

Here are some bad habits that most people complain about and solutions for how to break them:

• Nail-biting or other nervous habits

These types of habits are usually caused by stress or boredom. You may grab a cigarette if you smoke or immediately begin to chew on ragged nails or cuticles.

Make it a point to catch yourself at the beginning of these bad habits and immediately do something else. Get up and walk around for awhile, get into a project you’ve been avoiding – anything that keeps your hands from turning to the same old bad habit.

• Compulsive shopping

This habit may get you into some serious financial trouble or you might end up with “stuff” you don’t even need or want. The best way to curb a compulsive shopping habit is to make a list of what you need before you go shopping.

This might mean that you carefully plan menus, put everything on the grocery list that you need and then stick to the list!

If clothing or shoes is your downfall avoid those department stores that make you spend money on things you don’t need. If you shop online, avoid those sites where you’re apt to go crazy with a credit card.

The same applies to clothing, shoes and accessories as with other things that might tempt you – avoid the triggers for awhile until you build a strong reserve of will power.

• Gossiping

Gossiping is one of the most destructive elements of our society. Even if you don’t engage in it, you’re connected to it if you listen and give it credence. Gossip can crush positive thoughts and leave your energy level severely diminished.

Amazingly, idle gossip can also weaken your immune system. It’s a toxic energy that is stressful on your body and mind and has no place in your life. Do you watch gossip shows on television or read gossip magazines?

If so, you’re tuned in to the gossip energy and probably engage in it at work and among family and friends. The only way you can exorcise gossip from your life is by refusing to read or listen to it. Don’t purchase the supermarket gossip “rags” and if someone begins to gossip in person or on the phone, simply walk away or hang up.

When your emotions tell you that you’re listening to gossip, choose the high road and refuse to let the negativity into your life. It may take some will power at first, especially if gossip is a big part of your life, but you can kick the habit.

• Swearing

Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” What does that say about us if we have a habit of constantly using swear words? Swearing has become so common these days that it may almost seem acceptable.

We hear it on television, in movie dialogues and within the workplace. But swearing is a bad habit that can reduce respect that people have for you and definitely shows a lack of character. It’s also immature and gives a bad first impression.

If you want to kick a swearing habit, begin by getting it through your head that swearing is a negative influence in your life and serves no positive purpose. Begin to break the habit by leaving out casual swear words from your speaking vocabulary.

Your speech may sound stilted at first, but take your time and get used to a more “elegant” way of speaking. You’ll soon appreciate the difference – and so will everyone else.

When you’re having an especially stressful time, whether a day or a moment, try to cope with the problem rather than cursing about it.

Think of alternative words to use rather than the usual swear words – and above all, be patient with yourself. Bad habits are hard to break, but if you persevere, you can do it.

• Hoarding

Compulsive hoarding can morph into a serious problem that may take medical intervention to eradicate. You’ve probably seen stories on television that highlight hoarding (a recent program is called, “Buried Alive”) – stacks of clutter and even animals living in filthy conditions can indicate a serious hoarding habit.

Some of these people don’t see their hoarding as a problem, but if you know you have a bad habit of collecting and keeping items that serve no purpose and want to do something about it, you can probably teach yourself to break the habit by reading some books on organizing.

If you think you have a serious compulsive hoarding habit, call a professional organizer that can help put you and your stuff back on track.

• Bad Financial Habits

When bill paying time comes, do you find that you’re always robbing Peter to pay Paul, juggling finances just to get along and perhaps ending up with lots of late fees? If you answer yes to that question, chances are you’re plagued with bad financial habits.

Bad financial habits include overspending, getting yourself into too much debt so that you can’t pay your bills on time – or can’t pay them at all.

What if you lost your job or source of income tomorrow – would you have enough money saved to tide you over until things turn around? You may have the knowledge about what you should be doing, but certain habits are keeping you from realizing your dreams.

Again, knowledge of exactly what you’re doing to cause financial problems is key to you breaking the habit. Begin to track your spending and cut out those things that are non-essential.

Leave the credit cards at home and begin to pay them off by paying more than you’re required – especially on those credit cards that charge the most interest. And, be sure to pay them on time to avoid late fees.

• Anger

An uncontrolled anger habit can denote depression and intense emotional pain. It can ruin relationships, keep you from advancing in your job or career and can cause long lasting depression – even though anger sometimes makes you feel good as you’re “getting it out of your system.”

But anger is a negative emotion that sometimes has a domino effect such as yelling at your family after your boss yelled at you that day. If anger is causing problems in your life, there are several ways to combat it.

First, take a deep breath before expressing anger at any time. Don’t speak during the anger moments. Instead, vow that you’re going to think about it first. Remember the old Chinese proverb: “If you are patient in one moment of anger you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”

• Jealousy

If you’re seeking a path to self awareness and you’ve developed a bad habit of jealousy, you’ll never find complete happiness or become aware of all that you could accomplish if jealousy wasn’t a part of your life.

Jealousy is usually an emotional reaction that comes from your own insecurities. Dealing with it means that you quit reacting to scenarios that cause the behavior. Controlling jealous thoughts and behavior is something like controlling a car racing downhill with no brakes.

To avoid the tragedy that’s about to happen, you should have avoided the hill in the first place. In order to avoid the hill, you have to change your core beliefs that make you react jealously to a situation.

When you find yourself engaged in a jealous reaction, shift your thoughts so that you can cast the feelings from your mind. If that means immediately doing something else, do it.

What to Do When Bad Habits Take Hold:

A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Nail Biting and More (What to Do Guides for Kids) [Paperback]

Product Description

Nail biting. Thumb sucking. Hair twirling. Scab picking. Shirt chewing.

Do you have a habit that's hard to stop? A habit that embarrasses you or gets you in trouble? If so, you're not alone.

Lots of kids have habits they wish they could lose. But habits are stronger than wishes. They lock on, holding you tight.

Even if you want to break free, you can't. Unless you have the keys.

What to Do When Bad Habits Take Hold guides children and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques used to treat a variety of habits.

Engaging examples, lively illustrations, and step-by-step instructions teach children a set of habit-busting strategies in the form of "keys" to unlock the chains holding their habits in place. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for empowering children to set themselves free.

About the Author
Dawn Huebner, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in Exeter, New Hampshire, specializing in the treatment of children and their parents. She is the author of the What-to-Do Guides for Kids series.

Bonnie Matthews has illustrated many children's books. Her whimsical characters have also appeared in more than 100 magazines worldwide, as well as on greeting cards, gift wrap, can labels, and even the cover of the Lands' End Kids catalog. She lives in Baltimore.

Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Good Series"
By M. Junkins (Texas) -

I enjoyed the 3 books I purchased in this series. It provided a common vocabulary for my son and I and enabled him to realize he is not alone in his worries.

PS - I'm a psychologist and professor and recommend this series a lot.

Habitually Great: Master Your Habits, Own Your Destiny [Paperback]

Product Description

Habitually Great rescues readers from their search for the right motivational and personal development book. At the heart of this book lies one simple truth: insights disappear, habits don’t.

Too often, we may fail to create permanent change because we humans are hard-wired to revert back to our old habits. In actuality, it’s our habits that are hard-wired, and are in charge of us; and in many fundamental ways they are determining the course of our lives.

Habitually Great places in readers hands an important breakthrough: a habit methodology that has proven over several years and with thousands of people, to create cognitive patterns of success in both people and organizations.

It gives readers the tools to take this leap from intention to action, from ideas to accomplishment.

• The author and his staff deliver Habitually Great and Peak Life Habits programs to high-powered executives and Fortune 500 companies
• A breakthrough habit methodology that is proven to create patterns of personal and professional success
• A self-help book that is practical and doable, rather than theoretical
• Provides the missing link to individual and professional greatness

Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars "transformation"
By Maria Stewart (naples,fl)

This book has led to incredible changes in my attitude, emotions and behaviors that have previously blocked me from achieving the life I desire. Mark's teachings are practical, thought provoking and easy to make sense of and implement in one's life. I

would highly recommend purchasing Habitually Great, it is a must read for anyone wanting to move forward toward the identification, creation and fulfillment of their personal and professional goals and dreams.

Work on changing ONE bad habit at a time.

If you try to do too much, you’ll simply become overwhelmed and discouraged.

Begin the process of eliminating bad habits by starting with a “small” one – one that you consider do-able. Each time you eradicate a bad habit from your life, you’ll feel more in control of your destiny and will be able to more easily master the next bad habit.

If part of your Self Development Plan includes getting rid of bad habits, know that controlling your thoughts is the quickest and best way to do it.

It doesn’t matter if your habits run the gamut from smoking to laziness to being a workaholic - your every reaction to these habits can be controlled in a good way by first recognizing the origin of the habit and then find ways to turn your thoughts in another direction.

You might be able to eradicate bad habits for awhile, only to find that you relapse in a moment of weakness. Don’t give up. Figure out why you relapsed so that you can prevent it from happening again.

Above all, don’t become discouraged and think of yourself as a failure. Don’t slip back into the patterns that formed the habit in the first place.

Eventually, changing your thoughts and your bad habit patterns will become easier and more natural for you to do. Aristotle said that “excellence is not an act, but a habit.” It takes just as much effort to develop the habit of excellence as it does to keep repeating the old bad habits.

All bad habits have triggers that come before you actually engage in the habit. For example, for some people a shower might indicate that it’s time to wake up, dress and go to work while for others a nice warm shower might signal that it’s time to go to bed. One trigger makes you wide awake and the other makes you sleepy and lethargic.

Whatever good and beneficial habits you’ve formed are worth reinforcing. The ones you consider bad and that you want to change must be carefully analyzed and then replaced by positive ones.

Many therapists say that the best way to replace a bad habit with a good one is to pledge to abandon the bad habit for only 30 days. Be sure that your plan includes how you’re going to replace the habit with new, positive thoughts and actions – then, for 30 days do your best to be consistent. By the end of the 30 days your new habit should be stronger than the old – bad – one.

Another good way to ensure the success of eliminating bad habits is to tell others about your plan of action. The more help you can get for “your side,” the more support you’ll be able to count on to see you through it.

Try to maintain a good attitude while you’re going through the process of kicking bad habits. That will get you past a great deal of the frustration and obstacles that come your way.

Keep positive by surrounding yourself with positive friends, do things you like to do, meditate and be forgiving of yourself while going through this time of change in your life.

This Year I Will...:

How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True [Hardcover]

Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Inspiration, encouragement and advice for change"
By C. S. Clarke "C.S. Clarke, Ph.D., Psychologist"

This review is from: This Year I Will...: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True (Hardcover)

What I like best about M.J. Ryan is that she is a compassionate writer. She is writing about something that is very difficult to do: change. It is clear that she understands that change is hard; nobody is perfect, and people will slip.

Her acceptance inspires your own acceptance of the perils of change and your personal foibles. She encourages you to take the leap into change despite your doubts. She makes you believe that change may be hard but with her advice it is possible and even probable.

Her advice is clear and precise; the book is jam-packed with information but without an excess of words. She looks at all the essential issues involved in making changes.

She begins with the basics, the things that you must do to make a change and make it last: You must be specific. You must plan. You must prepare. You must really want it. You must make a commitment. You must take action. You must re-evaluate when things aren't working. You must get back on track when you slip up.

Yes, all of that sounds very familiar. What isn't so familiar is her analysis of exactly how all that works, why it works the way it does, and precisely what to do to assure that it works the way it should. She also tells you the probable reasons for your efforts going awry, as well as what to do when you do run into trouble.

Like any good writer who compels your attention, she illustrates her points with apt examples and anecdotes. As with the rest of her writing, the stories are made most effective by their brevity.

I am reminded of a textbook I was once assigned in college. It was called "The Force of Few Words" and was about how poetry achieves its powerful effects.

M.J. Ryan is not writing poetry, but her words are full of "rhyme and reason" and her advice together with her stories will make you believe in your power to change.

The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back:

Overcoming the Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead [Paperback]

Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Overcoming Bad Thinking Habits to Improve Career Performance,"
By Professor Donald Mitchell
Think of this book as a psychologically-based opposite to Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The authors are both business psychologists, executive coaches for those with career problems, and directors of MBA career development at Harvard Business School.

The book is well illustrated with examples of their concepts, drawn from actual cases they have worked on. I suspect you will recognize people you have met, as well as yourself, in these cases.

As the authors are well aware, a major flaw can sink someone who is otherwise a top performer. Improving an area where the person is strong will do less good than getting the substandard area up to normal or better.

Based on their years of experience they note, 'The ways people fail in their careers, however, are quite limited.

People fail in the same ways, for the same reasons, over and over again, from one industry to another, from the lowest level to the highest . . . Moreover . . . many . . . people are amazingly unaware of the patterns of behavior they exhibit that are resulting in failure.' Talk about unconscious incompetence!

Part I of the book identifies 12 behaviors that can hold you back.

1. Never Feeling Good Enough (acrophobia or fear of career progress)

2. Seeing the World in Black and White (meritocrat or not seeing the relevance of loyalty, self-interest, or personality)

3. Doing Too Much, Pushing Too Hard (a hero, with an Achilles heel from overdoing it)

4. Avoiding Conflict at Any Cost (peacekeeper, who avoids even healthy conflict such as that required to overcome misconceptions)

5. Running Roughshod over the Opposition (bulldozer, a male role similar to an offensive lineman in football)

6. Rebel Looking for a Cause (rebels, who want attention more than results)

7. Always Swinging for the Fences (a home run style swinger who strikes out most of the time)

8. When Fear Is in the Driver's Seat (a pessimistic worrier, a naysayer out of fear)

9. Emotionally Tone Deaf (Mr. Spock from Star Trek, low emotional intelligence)

10. When No Job Is Good Enough (Coulda-been, who moves on because they feel inadequate, but don't want to face up to that)

11. Lacking a Sense of Boundaries (People who talk out of school)

12. Losing the Path (Alienated people who have lost their career vision of what they want from a career)

click the book cover to read the rest of this customer review:

Quit Smoking with the Help of Hypnosis

Listen to our audio article video about quitting smoking & get your download:

Have you ever considered using hypnosis to help you quit smoking? Or do you think that hypnosis is a trick that is performed on stage by magicians to make people look silly?

Hypnosis is real and although people get the wrong impression of hypnosis due to stage performances, it can actually help you with many self improvement issues.

Hypnosis can help people to overcome some addictions, including smoking. There are hundreds of people who have successfully given up smoking with the aid of self hypnosis.

There is the option to visit a professional hypnotherapist and have one on one sessions to help you quit smoking. Many people though are a little hesitant to visit a professional hypnotherapist out of embarrassment, or even due to the cost, so the other option they have is self hypnosis.

There are self hypnosis programs available on the internet in MP3 format. When you purchase one such program you have instant access to download the program. You can then transfer it to your iPod or MP3 player and listen to it at your convenience.

These self hypnosis programs are much less expensive than visiting a professional hypnotherapist and they are still very effective.

You will need to let the hypnotism work on you subtly in order to successfully quit smoking by self hypnosis. When using this method you do not have the typical hypnotized feeling like you see on the movies.

Quit smoking self hypnosis will allow you to lose the craving for cigarettes.

Self hypnotherapy will help you view smoking differently and let you feel that smoking is no longer a necessity in your life. These hypnotherapy programs have an aversion therapy which makes this possible.

The MP3 self hypnosis programs are usually created by professional hypnotherapists and they will use the power of suggestion to make the session more effective.

Self hypnosis will give you the mind power that you need to break the habit of smoking. Although it may not happen after the first session, you will soon find that you no longer crave nicotine and no longer have the need to smoke.

If you have tried to quit smoking with no success then why not give self hypnosis a go and allow it to change the way you view smoking and give you the will power that you need to quit.

Get your instant download self hypnosis here: http://www.stop-smoking-by-hypnosis.com

http://www.self-hypnosis-downloads-mp3.com

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