How to Quit a Habit
We all have bad habits. Maybe you forget to brush your teeth in the morning or wash your face at night. Maybe you bite your nails or pluck your beard. If it’s something you do every day out of “habit,” your brain is wired to do it. It’s something you don’t have to think about doing. You’ve become so accustomed to doing this thing that you often won’t even realize when you’re doing it.
I used to be one of those people whose legs would shake incessantly anytime they sat down. I don’t know if this was because I had a lot of energy or because I was bored, or what. And while it still crops up from time to time, I’ve mostly stopped doing it. Something like that doesn’t happen by accident; I didn’t just wake up one morning and realize that I didn’t shake my leg anymore. I know I’m not the only person to have broken a bad habit in history, but I know exactly what it took for me to do it, and I’ll gladly share the tid bit with you.
It takes thirty days to make or break a habit, effectively rewiring the automatic part of your brain. It takes conscious effort. You have to literally restrain yourself, which sounds much easier than it actually is. For thirty days, your urges will be stealthy and powerful, and often you’ll find yourself saying “oops, I did it again. ” This is by far the easiest time to just give up and say “well, I could have quit if I’d wanted to.” But you must have wanted to, otherwise you wouldn’t have tried to quit at all.
What does it take to get through this? That varies. For some, it will take some kind of replacement activity or reward.
Do be careful with these, though, because they don’t always work and can actually have adverse effects. But something sensible and healthy as a replacement activity can help you satisfy the underlying need without doing something undesirable. For example, an apple in place of a chocolate bar will fill you up and still be a bit sweet, but the improvement is obvious.
The key to forcing yourself through it is dedication. You need to have a real reason to be dropping your habit. If you’re skipping that chocolate bar in order to shave off a few pounds, keep a calorie calendar. The difference will be striking. Make sure to have some concrete way to measure your progress, even if it’s something as simple as a calendar to keep track of “days without…” Being diligent about keeping track of your progress will remind you how important it is to you. When it’s gon, you shouldn’t even notice it.
So get out there and lose a bad habit today!
(photo credit: Raelene G)
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