As we head into 2022, we’re going to hear so much about how to create good habits like exercise, eating well, journaling, and so on. That’s great and all but how about breaking the bad habits?

Sometimes we need to take stock of what’s holding us back and find a way to let go. Bad habits are caused by 2 things. Stress and boredom. I don’t know about you, but I picked up a bad habit or 3 during the pandemic and I’m ready to break them so I can replace them with good habits.

First of all, all the bad habits you have are there for a reason. Whether it’s biological like smoking or emotional like staying in a bad relationship or even stressful like chewing your nails.

Steps To Breaking Bad Habits:

Step 1: It is not enough to eliminate the bad habit, you need to replace them

I used to chew the sides of my fingers and nails down to the numb. Then I started doing my nails to make them pretty. When they’re pretty, I want to keep them that way.

Step 2: Find the trigger 

Something is triggering you to do the bad habit. Be mindful of what happens before you do the bad habit. How do you feel? Being aware will help you make the change. Grab a pen and notebook and track how many times your bad habit happens.

Step 3: Buddy up with someone who wants to quit something too and hold each other accountable and celebrate your victories 

Don’t forget to celebrate the little wins. Those count too. Try to surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed. There may be some negative self-talk when you slip up. That’s normal. To help fight it, you’re going to use the word “but”.

Step 4: Finally, visualize yourself actually succeeding 

Whether it’s waking up earlier, buying healthier foods or growing long beautiful nails, seeing is believing. Breaking bad habits takes time, effort, and consistency. You might even fail a few times before you break it and that’s ok! Because when you finally break it, you break it for good!