How to get rid of bad habits. How to get rid of a bad habit. Learn from your mistakes

Instruction

Getting rid of the habit of biting nails
Apply a special polish to your nails. It is sold in a pharmacy, has no color and has an unpleasant (bitter) taste. If this method is ineffective, grow acrylic or gel nails. Gnawing an artificial base (plate) is very inconvenient.
Usually people who do this during stressful situations or when they simply have nothing to do (when watching a movie, sitting at a computer, etc.). Try to avoid it. Chew on nuts or seeds, but try not to put your hands in your mouth.
Go to a psychiatrist. It has been proven that this habit is the result of small nervous breakdowns.

Related videos

note

All of the above tips and methods will help to overcome such addictions only if the person himself wants it, and nothing else.

From a psychological point of view, a habit is any action brought to automatism and carried out without effort and control. That is, these are things that people do without thinking. Unfortunately, a person tends to acquire more bad habits than good ones: from almost innocent “childish” ones (biting nails, winding hair around a pencil) and ending with really harmful addictions to smoking or gluttony. Getting rid of them is much harder than getting them.

Instruction

Tune in. To break a habit, you need to want it. You don't have to expect much from the very beginning, but you have to believe in yourself. Many immediately retreat, as they already foresee failure. Therefore, it is best to start small, giving up bad habits gradually. For example, first try to rid yourself of the habit of touching your hair, when it's over, learn. Having won, you will understand what you are capable of, and you will be able to stop smoking, for example. Write down your commitments to keep you motivated.

After choosing one habit to get rid of, determine its cause. In fact, this is a more complex and deeper concept than just an automated action. It is based on serious psychological conditions, for example, stress or protracted. With the help of certain actions, a person calms himself and looks for a way out. The habit of pulling clothes and fixing hair can be the result of an inferiority complex and self-doubt. To understand the reason, observe yourself. For example, you may find yourself chewing on your pencil every time your boss is with you. As a rule, during rest, vacation or after a change of work, habits disappear as the cause is eliminated. If you cannot understand the source of addiction, consult a psychologist.

Identify the positive and negative sides of the habit. Even from the most harmful and bad addictions people get pleasure. Smoking, for example, helps to refresh the mind. But listing all the unpleasant consequences (cancer, metabolic disorders,), you will understand that there are much fewer good ones. If your habit isn't hurting you or those around you, but it's a lot of fun, maybe you shouldn't get rid of it.

Use a trigger - this is a short ritual that you need to perform every time you want to do a habitual act. Choose an action that will bring you benefit and pleasure and help you get rid of the desire to act out of habit. For example, every time you feel like chewing on a pencil, start drawing something. To get rid of the habit of getting up late, eat dinner and go to bed earlier.

Avoid situations in which your habits most often manifest themselves. Try to meet less often if you constantly pull at your clothes while talking with her. Or engage yourself in something very interesting instead of a late dinner, so as not to think about it. It is also advisable to avoid people who have the same habit, as it is human nature to imitate.

Tell friends and acquaintances that you want to get rid of the habit, it increases motivation. Take advantage of the action of the lever - for example, give a friend a thousand rubles and ask for a refund only when you completely eliminate a bad habit.

Related videos

note

How to get rid of bad habits. Bad habits have a detrimental effect on a person's life, sometimes being the main causes of problems in personal life and at work. They affect, first of all, human health, and if a person has poor health, then there is no need to talk about achieving success in any of the spheres of life.

Useful advice

Everyone has their own habits. Unfortunately, some of them are unpleasant for others (for example, the manner of being late, biting your nails, drumming your fingers on the table) and detrimental to our health (smoking, the habit of filling up at night or spending all day on the couch in front of the TV).

Sources:

  • How to get rid of bad habits

Losers are a special category. They are called weaklings, losers, they regret, they are surprised, but meanwhile all their failures are not just an unfavorable combination of circumstances. Loser is a way of thinking. How to get rid of the humiliating diagnosis - "loser"? In order not to feel like a loser, you need to get rid of annoying habits, change your worldview. This is not easy to do, you have to work hard on yourself!


  • Get rid of the habit of patiently accepting difficulties and what you do not like. Do not eat unloved food, do not wear awkward clothes and uncomfortable shoes. Don't tolerate what you don't like! Feel the taste of life.

  • Do not associate with people who try to humiliate you, kill your self-esteem and constantly criticize your every action.

  • Do not think about what other people think of you, what they will say or think. Your life is unique, you should not grow old for everyone, depriving yourself of initiative. Remember: if you try to please everyone, you will lose.

  • Do not try to load yourself with other people's problems - you yourself have enough of them. Making promises, fulfilling other people's requests, gaining a reputation as a trouble-free person, you miss the opportunity to improve your own life, have fun and solve pressing issues for yourself, since all your time is spent on satisfying other people's interests.

  • Do not try to control everything around you, take on overwhelming responsibility. Get rid of neurosis - even if you didn’t manage to do something, don’t bite yourself! The physical capabilities and endurance of a person are limited, be more indulgent with yourself and do not neglect those people who are ready to help you.

  • The path of least resistance is the shortest path to an unfortunate set of circumstances. You may have to go against someone else's opinions, cross your interests with others. You should not be afraid of this, otherwise you will always give up your "prey" to someone who has more firmness and strength in character.

  • Do not keep all feelings "locked". Sometimes it pays to let go and say something out loud that someone might not like. Do not keep in, sort things out right away. Do not complain about life and do not delve into other people's complaints, do not encourage whiners - they steal your time and luck. Sometimes you have the right to both anger and love - do not be afraid to talk about your feelings out loud, an open, sincere person has a much better chance of success.

  • Do not be afraid to take risks, but do not forget about the reasonableness of the risk. When making a risky decision, consider additional options, escape routes. But do not give up risk due to indecision! Do not be afraid to make mistakes - the one who does nothing is not mistaken.

  • You can't just think about others. Try to create your own personal space so that those who live nearby feel warm and comfortable in it. The more comfortable you yourself are, the better it will be for those around you. Do not forget about relatives and parents - they will always be your support, unlike random people who disown and forget about you right there if something in your life goes wrong.

  • Don't spend your time shut up in four walls, don't be a rogue. Do not buy any rubbish, get rid of unnecessary and old things. leave the essentials, the essentials. Do not collect unnecessary information in your head, do not store it, do not read various nonsense - there is not much time in life, devote yourself to reading the most necessary and good books.

  • Don't dwell on past failures and achievements. What happened yesterday has already vanished into the past. Think about the future, make plans, but also take care of today- just as much as needed. Do not be afraid to dream - dreams, especially sincere ones, always come true.

  • Forget about the words "I can't," "I can't," "I can't." Do not miss the opportunity to learn something, Try also to avoid the words "If you succeed in such and such ...". A strong verbal formula structures the space, so it is better to say: "When I do such and such...", "When such and such happens." Thus, you program yourself that everything will definitely turn out the way you want.

  • Don't compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own life, their own mistakes and their own path. Imitating someone, you will become only a shadow, a copy, not realizing your own potential. Do not envy anyone, it distracts from your own life. Moreover, being envious of something, we do not imagine at all how many problems the object of our envy can have - problems that we simply do not know about.

  • Don't try to be perfect, get the "A" complex out of your head. Try to be independent, but do not be afraid to use someone else's help, feel free to involve supporters and like-minded people in your work. But do not shift the responsibility onto others.

  • Do not think about the bad, do not listen to scary or sad stories. Get rid of shyness, slight impudence or

Severity bad habits are perceived differently by people: for some, words-parasites are impossible to hear, the other cannot stop smoking, the third is reckless and loses large sums in the casino.

Undoubtedly, they all have one thing in common: if a habit interferes with life, makes it impossible to coexist in a family or in society, it must be got rid of. Easy versions of bad habits , of course, is easier to eradicate than severe ones that require significant intervention from a specialist and constant support, but according to Alan Malatta, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington, it will take a total of 90 days to completely eradicate bad habit.

How to get rid of a bad habit?

Counseling psychologists and gurus personal growth argue that the eradication of a bad habit begins with awareness of the problem. Not only is it important to accept the reality of "I have some kind of addiction/bad habit", but also to see the extent of the damage that it brings, to trace the future destructive results of its influence.

Keep a diary. This technique is used to control gambling, shopaholism, alcohol and drug addiction, as well as tobacco use. If you mark your achievements every day, describe the sensations, then there will be something to hold on to for the first 90 days of an acute period of getting rid of the habit.

motivational statement. Find a quote from a book or a saying famous person, preferably, someone who is an example for you, perhaps who has independently gone through what you are going through now, learn his statement by heart. Repeat it daily or write it in at the beginning/at the end of a diary report - something should encourage you to keep going, so find that stimulus or create it within yourself.

Break off the patch or heal gradually? Many people ask themselves: what is the best way to get rid of a bad habit - gradually or all at once? It would be wiser to choose an approach based on the psychological characteristics of the individual, and here one cannot do without reflection, self-awareness and understanding of what will follow this or that kind of refusal.

Replace a negative habit with a positive one. The secret of getting rid or transforming a habit lies in its very name, so there is nothing particularly complicated - we ourselves are used to doing certain things, which means we can also easily wean them. Yes, at first our brain will feel discomfort, because it is used to working according to a specific program, however, it is also flexible and susceptible to change.

Replace a negative habit with a positive one you can also radically, as well as break with her, or you can only outwit yourself a little. However, it is worth considering the reaction of the body. For example, older chickens will not be able to run as much as they would like, but those who ate cakes at night will be able to transfer their habit of getting physical satiety and satisfaction to a new track.

It is important to understand the mechanisms that work when the habits and needs of the body are formed - only then can you eradicate what seemed to be dragging you headlong into a hopeless quagmire, but we know that there are no hopeless situations. Your life is in your hands!

(No ratings yet)

Everyone knows the expression “Habit is second nature”. Indeed, habits take root in our lives, making it impossible to get rid of them. Our natural inclination to something gives rise to habits in us, and not always good ones, which over time can lead to sinful habits. Breaking habits is not easy - it takes a lot of patience. Islam provides the believer with such an opportunity to get rid of addictions, providing an ideal environment for moral training.

According to scientists, it takes 30 days to get rid of a bad habit and develop a good one instead. And if you still devote these 30 days to religious deeds, then the chance that you can easily get rid of a habit that you and possibly those around you hate increases dramatically.

These tips will help you change your habits for the better:

1. Awareness and definition of bad habits. The first step in any battle is knowing your enemy. After all, how can you get rid of something if you do not know what is bothering you? You must accept that you need to change. If not, then you don't realize that you have bad habits.

2. Work on one habit for a month. Once you've identified your bad habits, choose the one that hurts the most and work on it for 30 days. If you change at least one habit in yourself, then other changes will follow in your favor.

3. Awareness that it is in the power of a person to change. In this case, the saying "a hunchbacked grave will fix it" does not work. A believer always strives for the best and always has the opportunity to change. If you really want to, you can get rid of your habit. No one will change you if you don't want to.

4. Remember that Allah loves those who repent: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you did not commit sins, Allah would destroy you, and He would replace you with such people who will commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He will forgive them.”

5. Intention and planning. A healthy process of changing yourself requires gradual following and sincere intention, thanks to which Allah will bestow barakah on your undertaking and help you, Inshallah.

6. Replace a bad habit with a good one. Breaking a habit completely is much more difficult than replacing it with a good habit. For example, it is easier to replace the habit of wasting time in front of the TV with exercising or reading books than it is to abruptly deprive yourself of watching TV. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the best "psychologist" of mankind and described this principle in the following words: "Fear Allah, wherever you are, and let every bad deed of yours be followed by a good one that will make up for the previous one, and treat people well."

7. Change your environment. refrain from negative impact from those around you. The environment can have a very strong influence on a person and his habits. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“A good friend and a bad friend are like the incense seller and the blacksmith. The incense seller can give you perfume, or you can buy it yourself, or at least you will smell a pleasant smell in his presence. As for the blacksmith, you will dirty or set fire to your clothes at his place and you will inhale the smoke of the furnaces.

8. Train yourself mentally and physically. The habit of regular exercise helps fight bad habits. Exercise builds character and helps resist temptation, which is the source of all bad habits. The will is like a muscle, the more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes.

9. Think of yourself as a changed, different, new person. This simple psychological shift in your mind can work wonders. Tell yourself, “I can't keep acting like this. I am better than I am. I am stronger. I am wiser."

10. Reward yourself for success. Reward yourself for every obstacle you overcome in the form of a habit. The rewarded action is fixed in the mind and requires repetition. Unfortunately, people rarely use this technique. Rewarding yourself for success increases your chances of turning bad habits into good ones and is more effective than punishing yourself for bad habits. And as Muslims, we must remember that the ultimate reward is the pleasure of Allah Almighty and Paradise in the eternal world.

11. Limit your bad traits. If you really want to get rid of a bad character trait, try to limit the habit to a certain time and place. Such non-standard approach can be a useful first step in changing bad habits or in acquiring new good ones.

12. Tell a loved one about your desire to change. You can tell one of your close people that you are trying to get rid of some kind of addiction, and this person can help you with this. It can track your compliance with quitting the habit.

13. Don't stop half way. If you are determined to change and get rid of bad habits, do not give up. This requires determination and firmness. This is a long and lengthy process, also known as tazkiyah (purification) in Islamic terminology. And continuing is always harder than taking the first step. But remember, by showing determination, you will still achieve your goal.

14. Always remind yourself of death. The Prophet said: "More remember the destroyer of all pleasures - death."

15. Don't get back into the habit you're trying to get rid of. If you find yourself trying to get back into an old habit that you're trying to get rid of, then go ahead and throw your money away. This will remind you of the price you pay for returning to bad habits.

16. Ask Allah for help. Everything is in the hands of Allah, and we, being believers, in any matter turn to Allah Almighty with a request, because the outcome of any matter depends only on Him. Ask Allah to deprive you of bad qualities, bad habits and replace them with good ones, fill your heart with the light of iman, which will not allow you to fall into sin.

The Qur'an says: “For the one who fears Allah, He creates a way out of the situation, endows him with a lot from where he does not even imagine. Whoever trusts in Allah, He is sufficient. Allah completes His work” (65:2-3).

If you know something is bad for you, why can't you just stop? About 70% of smokers say they would like to quit. Drug and alcohol abusers struggle to give up bad habits that damage their bodies and deprive them of family and friends. And many of us are unhealthy excess weight, which we could lose if we only eat right and move more. So why don't we do it?

Habits arise from repetition. They are a normal part of life and are usually very beneficial. They kind of free our brains so that we can focus on other activities.

Habits can also develop when good or pleasant experiences activate the "reward" brain centers. And this can lead to the creation of potentially bad habits such as overeating, smoking, alcohol or drug abuse, gambling, and even compulsive use of computers and social media. This is why pleasure-based habits are much harder to break. And in the case of drugs, the help of specialists is very often required, since the treatment of drug addiction in Tyumen, Moscow and other cities is already well put on stream.

Pleasure releases a chemical called dopamine in the brain. With repeated actions, dopamine further reinforces this habit. In a sense, it turns out that part of our brain works against us when we try to overcome these bad habits.

Fortunately, people are not just slaves of habits. We have many more areas of the brain that help us do what is most beneficial to our health. Humans are far better than any other animal at orienting themselves towards long-term goals and long-term benefits.

After successfully resisting temptation, studies show that willpower can temporarily weaken, so it will be much more difficult to resist the next time. In recent years, however, evidence has been found that regular use various kinds self-control, such as sitting up straight or keeping a food diary, can greatly strengthen your resolve. Thus, you can improve your self-control by doing exercises for a long time. Any regular act of self-control gradually strengthens your "muscles" and makes you stronger.

Of course, there is no single right way to suppress bad habits. First of all, you need to clearly focus on them. Then develop a counter strategy. For example, habits can be associated in your mind with certain places and activities. In this case, you can develop a plan to avoid these places and stay away from friends and situations related to your problem.

Another useful technique is to visualize yourself in a seductive situation. Imagine, for example, that you are visiting and eating vegetables instead of meat and sausage. Praise yourself for this. Not sure if this will work, but sometimes, of course, it can help.

One great way to get rid of bad habits is to replace them with new, healthy habits. Such alternative forms of behavior can seriously counteract previously harmful stereotypes.

Some groups of scientists at the National Institutes of Health are studying whether certain drugs can help break down time-formed patterns in the brain and replace them with new memories and patterns. Other research teams are looking for genes that could make it easy for many people to form new habits and repress old ones.

In any case, bad habits, with the support of friends, colleagues and family, can be changed, although there are still enough difficulties along the way.

An important feature of any habit is unconscious repetition. It turns out a vicious circle of unconscious automatic actions.

As Charles Duhigg pointed out in his book "", a vicious circle of actions almost always follows the same pattern. A habit has a stimulus (trigger) that launches it and puts the brain in automatic mode; action - the constant repetition of something; the reward is a pleasant feeling that makes you return to this template again and again.

Let's analyze a bad work habit according to this scheme - frequent checking of email or social networks.

  • Stimulus: you have completed the task and decide what to do next. During this break, you start checking email.
  • Action: you look through the mail and read any letters that come to you, even if they are not related to work.
  • Reward: you feel satisfied that you have completed several tasks, such as answering a friend's email, watching a video on social media, leaving feedback on an order you recently received.

The problem is that all these things are not related to work, you just waste time, but remain untouched.

Habit Diagram

Over time, this circle - stimulus, action, reward - becomes automatic. And so the habit is formed.

The reward is accompanied by a release of dopamine, so you become addicted to checking email, and no amount of productivity articles will affect the habit.

How to get rid of a habit

Interest in action

To get out of the habit automatic mode, you need to pay attention to all the components of the template: incentive, action and reward. Take an interest in your habit, take it apart and feel every moment: why you want to do it, what you experience in the process and what you like with the result.

It is this approach to breaking habits that psychiatrist Judson Brewer described in his TED talk.

What if, instead of fighting with yourself, you just become very interested in what is happening in the present moment? Brewer gives the example of smoking. When people concentrated on the very act of smoking, interested in what they felt during a puff, they realized that they did not experience any pleasant sensations. One of the participants in the experiment called the direct experience of smoking disgusting, the taste of cigarettes seemed to her chemical and very unpleasant. Judging by the statistics of the experiment, focusing on a habit helps to get rid of it.

Try to keep track of how you feel when you are tempted to perform a habitual action like checking your email. Maybe it makes you feel productive?

“Many of the things we do throughout the day provide us with a sense of productivity that we can’t resist,” says Laura Vanderkam, author of The Book of Lost Time.

But checking your email all the time doesn't help you get better at work, it just gives you a false sense of being busy.

Realizing that the habit does not give you anything, you can change it. And for this you need a new useful action that will replace the unnecessary.

Action substitution

It will be easier for you to turn a bad habit into a good one if you leave the incentive and reward, but replace the action itself. Let's use the same email verification example.

You finish one task and start thinking about what to do next. This is an incentive. Instead of checking your email, you close any distracting tabs and move on to the next task on your list. This is action. As a result, you finish important tasks faster and feel more productive. This is a reward.


good habit chart

Thus, you do not destroy the habit, but simply change the action and instead of wasted time, you get a truly productive day.

Why You Should Break Bad Habits

Getting rid of bad habits at work, you change your life as a whole. Positive changes in one area lead to changes in other areas of life. For example, by stopping checking email at work, you get more done and frees up space for exercise. Or, by eliminating the habit of checking email and social networks, you begin to communicate more with your family, find time for meditation, be less nervous and sleep better.

And this applies not only to individual people but also to organizations. For example, when Paul O'Neill took over Alcola, he made worker safety a top priority. The focus on breaking habits has made Alcola one of the most productive and successful aluminum companies.

Choose one bad habit and watch it with interest for a week. Try changing one habitual activity within your company, such as the way you hire employees or hold meetings, and after a while you will see how it will affect the organization as a whole.

By realizing that habits can be changed, you will have the freedom to remake them in your own way. And having gained power over habits, you can change your life for the better.

 

It might be useful to read: