Are You Chained to a Bad Habit?

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Warren Buffett

There are a lot of reasons why we do things the way we do. It may be that “We’ve always done it this way.” It might be that we have allowed ourselves to get comfortable, and our comfort has created a rut. No matter the reason, consistent repetition is going to create a habit. The question that needs to be asked is, “Is this a good habit or bad?”  The next question is “How do I break a bad habit?”

1.  Begin by identifying the habit you want to change
   1. Why do you want to change it?
   2. What do you want to change it to?
2. Is there a “trigger” that starts the bad habit?
   1. For a smoker, it could be the cup of coffee. “I’m having coffee I need a cigarette.”
   2. In the office, it could be the chime of the computer announcing another e-mail. “I have to stop this and check the e-mail.”
   3. A trigger can be a place as well.  Going to the movies and thinking, “I will need to get popcorn and a drink” even before you get there.

Identifying the trigger can help change the behavior.

1. Develop a plan for the new habit that addresses the triggers
   1. If the constant distraction of e-mail is preventing you from working, turn off the chime and set a schedule when you will check your messages.
   2. If coffee is a trigger to smoke, then have your coffee in a place where you are not allowed to smoke.
   3. Think of simple steps that will help you be successful in breaking the bad habit. Buy your movie tickets online and don’t take money for the soda and popcorn.
2. Baby Steps
   1. Quitting smoking cold turkey is difficult – start by cutting back
   2. Instead of planning to lose fifty pounds, focus on losing fifteen and keeping it off.
3. Have an accountability partner
   1. Choose someone who will have your back and not let you slide.
   2. Choose someone who will encourage you.
   3. Choose someone who will tell you the truth.
4. Visualize yourself succeeding
   1. Thoughts become words, and words become actions, and actions become habits, so think in a positive way.
   2. Imagine yourself achieving your goal.
   3. Change negative statements into positive ones. I am fat.  I am fat BUT I am following my plan to get leaner, and I will succeed.
5. Plan for failure
   1. Give yourself permission to start again when you miss a day. The desire to be perfect is a recipe to fail. Miss it, make it up, and keep going.
   2. Plan for when you don’t feel like following through. Have a switch to motive you. Play the Theme from Rocky, look at a past photo, make a video you giving yourself a pep talk.
   3. Recognize these moments will come, plan for them, and follow your plan so the moments get further and further apart.
   4. Don’t quit. Readjust your goals or schedule, but don’t quit.
6. Celebrate progress
   1. You might miss your weight loss goal but celebrate that you have lost weight
   2. Don’t look at the missed mark and think fail, look at how far you’ve come since you started and build on that momentum.

I’m not going to lie, breaking the chain of a bad habit isn’t going to be easy. There will be times when you’ll want to quit, there will be days that you will miss a step. The key is to keep going. You will never break the habit if you don’t start. Make your plan. Keep it simple. Start the journey.

For more information on how the DREAM4 way can help you and your team replace these bad habits with good ones, reach out to us today!