Motivation: 7 Steps To Break Or Make A Habit

We all have Habits, some of which are healthy and some of which are not. These are learned habits that we practically never have to think about because we’ve done them so often. And the majority of us have at least one habit that we’d like to get rid of, as well as several that we’d like to start doing.

It takes around four weeks for a new behavior to turn into a routine, also known as a habit, for the majority of people. Establishing a new pattern of behavior may be made simpler by the actions that are detailed below.

Motivation: 7 Steps To Break Or Make A Habit

1. The first thing you need to do is determine what your goal is.

You should strive to restate your objective as a positive statement, particularly if you are attempting to kick a habit or change your behavior in some other way.

For instance, rather than expressing something like “I will stop snacking at night,” you may say something like “I will practice healthy eating habits.” In addition to that, you should write down your goal.

Writing it down and committing it to paper can help you commit. You may also find success by sharing your objective with a person in your circle of confidence.

2. Decide a new behavior to adopt.

(If you want to replace an old behavior with a new one, then the goal should be to replace the old behavior with the new behavior.)

When you are working to break a habit, this step is one of the most critical steps you can take. If you want to change a behavior, you need to have a better behavior to replace the one you want to change to. If you do not, the previous pattern of conduct will be reinstated.

3. Acknowledge and become familiar with your various triggers.

There is no such thing as an independent behavior pattern. Quite frequently, one of your habits is linked to another component of your typical daily activities.

In the case of the scenario involving snacking, for instance, the trigger may be late-night television or reading. While you are watching, you can’t help but reach for a bag of chips. After finishing their meals, many smokers immediately light up another cigarette.

Think about when you do the thing you wish to stop doing and why you do it.

4. Put up notes to remind yourself of things.

You can accomplish this by leaving notes for yourself in the environments in which the problematic behavior most frequently manifests itself.

Another option is to write a note to yourself and post it in a visible location, such as on the monitor of your computer, the refrigerator, or the mirror in your bathroom.

You might also ask a member of your family or a colleague at work to remind you of your objective by saying something specific to you.

5. Obtain assistance and support from a third party.

This ought to go without saying. Having assistance makes almost every task simpler. If you and another person can work together toward the same objective, the process will be even more successful.

6. Recite daily affirmations in your journal.

Write your chosen phrase or sentence in the present tense (as if it were now taking place), and then write it 10 times every day for the next twenty-one days.

This technique helps your goal become ingrained in your subconscious, which not only serves as a reminder to engage in the new behavior but also helps you maintain your concentration and enthusiasm for the journey.

7. Give yourself a reward when you reach a milestone after a predetermined amount of time.

Keep working toward your objective one day at a time, but reward yourself with a token gesture after one, three, and six months of consistent effort.

The rewards do not have to be very large or expensive, and you should make an effort to give them in the form of something that is connected to the objective in some manner. Taking this step gives you an incentive as well as additional motivation on top of that.

Even if you follow all of these instructions, there is no guarantee that you will be successful. It may take more than one attempt to break a habit completely, depending on the nature of the routine.

But if you keep at it, you will eventually succeed.