We all have a few habits here are there that we know aren’t exactly great for us. Whether it’s an aspect of our diet, lifestyle, spending, or anything else, none of us is perfect and pretending that you are is just foolish. Most of the time these habits are pretty harmless if less than ideal.
However, sometimes those kinds of bad habits can end up spilling over into something much more dangerous and unpleasant. When that happens, they can end up being an incredibly negative force in not only your life but the lives of those around you. When that starts to happen, the knock-on effect on your life as a whole can be disastrous.
It can leave you picking up the pieces of your life and having to make some incredibly tough choices about how to move forward. Of course, pretty much everyone would rather break those habits than let them wreak that kind of havoc on their lives. With that in mind, here are some ways to finally break those bad habits for good.
Be honest with yourself
The most common feeling that a lot of people end up experiencing when they start to engage in any kind of bad habits is denial. You might not even be doing this consciously. Even the worst habits in the world can often start small enough that you don’t really even notice that they’re there. It’s incredibly important that you learn to become self-aware and honest in a way that stops any of those kinds of habits from slipping under the radar.
Otherwise, you could end up only noticing that things you’re doing are dangerous or destructive when it’s too late and people, yourself included, are already getting hurt. Be honest about your flaws. Sure, it’s nice to look at yourself in the best way possible all the time, but if you do that, you’re never going to be able to grow and improve.
Stop making excuses
One thing that human beings are really good at doing pretty much all of the time is making excuses for ourselves. We look at the things we’re doing, and we make all kinds of excuses for why they’re acceptable. From explaining away eating that extra piece of cake to justifying some incredibly selfish behaviors, if you’re not careful, we’re all capable of excusing some things that we really shouldn’t.
Of course, there’s a big difference between making an excuse to yourself and to someone else. You might be able to tell yourself that you can have one more drink, but a DUI lawyer is going to be a lot harder to convince. Start holding yourself accountable for the things you’re doing before the world has to.
Ask for help
Of course, just because you have to take responsibility for yourself, doesn’t mean that you’re on your own. The truth is that there are plenty of ways that you can reach out to the people in your life for help and support. A lot of people have this strange attitude that reaching out for help is somehow a sign of weakness, but that’s not the case.
The truth is that there’s nothing stronger than being able to let the people in your life know that you need help and accepting their hand when it’s offered. No man is an island and trying to get through anything, especially something tough like breaking bad habits, on your own isn’t brave, it’s just foolish.
Have patience
When a lot of people decide that it’s time to break their bad habits, they end up getting very discouraged when things don’t work out right away. They feel as though they should be able to succeed at their goal right away because they’ve decided to.
However, that’s not the way things work, especially when it comes to breaking habits. As easy as habits are to pick up, they’re far harder to break. Have some patience and be ready to settle in for the long haul. It may take weeks, months, even years to break some of your worst habits but the important thing is that you never lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve, even when things start to get tough.
Go easy on yourself
And that’s one thing to remember, things are going to get tough. There will be times when you want to give up, and there will almost certainly be times when you slip up and fall back into some of your bad habits. The important thing is not to waste your energy giving yourself a hard time over these kinds of things.
As long as you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward, that’s all that matters. As long as you keep working towards breaking those habits for good, you’re on the right track. It can be easy to give yourself a hard time when something like this happens, but the truth is that, if you’re trying, you’re doing great. Learn to go easy on yourself and not put so much pressure on yourself all of the time.
One thing that you have to remember about these kinds of habits is that it can often be tough even to notice that they’re there. After all, things don’t get to become habits by being obvious. In fact, it may end up coming down to the people around you to tell you that there’s something wrong.
When that happens you may end up wanting to hide your head in the sand and ignoring them, since dealing with the problem is often a lot harder than avoiding it. However, you need to remember that those people bringing this kind of issue to your attention are doing so because they care about you and because it’s what’s best for you in the long run. It might not be fun, but being willing to accept that you’re doing something destructive to your own life and the lives of others is incredibly important to be able to grow as a person.