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Changing bad habits isn’t just about breaking the bad habit, it’s about creating new healthier habits to replace them with. These tips will help you view your habits differently and help you defeat them.
Happiness isn’t about being lucky, it’s about living the best life you are capable of. You can choose to live a happy life and you can choose to make a difference to your own well-being.
Bad Habits are hard to break
But there is hope! They might be hard to break, but little steps will help you accomplish your goals. If you are guilty of the bad habits below, it’s time to make a change for the better.
Stuck on a Hamster Wheel
Reality is always your perception. If you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel, take a few minutes to think about what makes you feel that way. Is it your job? Your family? There are always different ways to look at the exact same situation. Stop yourself from complaining and start an action plan.
When you feel stuck, it’s hard to focus on your own personal growth but it’s a necessity to do so in order to move forward. Honest self reflection will allow you to progress emotionally and spiritually.
Self confidence will help get you off that hamster wheel. Empower yourself with books 
and knowledge. Take small steps everyday towards your goals. That slight change in perception can be the tipping point for the new you.
Touching Your Skin
Touching your skin is a major no-no. It spreads bacteria and causes clogged pores. What do you get when you have clogged pores? Acne.
If you are like many people who are sitting behind a desk, you might not even realize how often you are touching your skin. After a few hours of emails, do you rest your face on your hand? That simple act can wreak havoc on any great skin regimen.
If you find that you just keep touching your skin, keep hand sanitizer around to reduce spreading germs onto your face. I like this one with vitamin E and aloe.
Taking good care of your skin will make you more conscientious throughout the day. This hydrating facial toner is my favorite.
Checking Your Phone at Night
This one is usually indicative of feeling anxious or frazzled. We reach for the phone to quiet our already busy brains. What we don’t realize is that the phone and the light it produces activate our brains at exactly the worse time. According to sleep.org, the blue light cell phones emit actual prohibit melatonin production.
Every time you glance at your phone, you reactivate all the brain waves you just worked so hard to keep at bay.
Create a nightly ritual and set a time to put your phone down. Personally, I am always worried that I forgot to set my alarm so I pick up my phone and something catches my attention. Setting an alarm, separate from your phone, will allow you trust that your alarm is set and keep you from feeling those extra anxiety pains.
I’m Washing My Hair Mug remember to prioritize yourself.
Bad Posture
A lot of us are worried about squeezing into the next smaller clothing size or adding extra pounds to derriere. Rarely do we think about our actual physical health.
Better posture will not only increase your core strength but it can change how people perceive you. Good posture is indicative of strength, power, confidence. Even if you don’t think you have the confidence yet, you’ll be surprised as to how quickly people start to treat you differently just by standing up straight.
My bad posture was more than just a bad habit
Unfortunately I didn’t do anything about my bad posture until my husband noticed that I was hunched over in the dinner chair. Suddenly, I realized I was barely a foot above my plate shoveling food in and I was uncomfortable. What scared me is that I hadn’t ever noticed this before. If I ate that way, that meant I worked that way, walked that way and was probably hunched 70% of the day.
I bought a posture brace to help fix my problem. You’ve probably seen similar options like this one… with tons of great reviews. I really liked it but I still wasn’t consistent enough to wear it. My husband started giving me gentle reminders that my posture was faltering and it started to drive me absolutely nuts feeling ‘my guard was down and caught in the act’.
The real change came when I bought the Upright for my own birthday present in August. The device is less than 2 inches long and stays charged for 30 hours. I am able to use my phone to view my posture results and even create training programs. The ‘Upright’ vibrates when you slouch which trains you to have better posture in 2 weeks.
Now that I’ve been using Upright for 2 months not only is my posture better, but my whole body feels like it holds itself in a correct position. Better posture has increased my core strength.
Great posture isn’t a luxury, it’s something within your control that will reflect positively on all facets of your life.
Biting Your Nails
I’m not saying that you need the longest cat claws on the block, but gosh a set of clean, well manicured nails make you feel good about yourself. If you have a nail biting habit, start to think about what triggers it.
The hardest part is getting through the first three weeks of not biting your nails. I’ve been in your shoes… the nail is nice and soft when it’s right next to the cuticle isn’t it? As soon as a little bit of nail grows above that, chomp!
There are options out there such as Mavala from Switzerland which is an inexpensive serum that makes your fingers taste horrible. I recommend a little Mavala around the edges of a cute manicure. Remember, just get past those 3 weeks and strong nails are on your horizon.
When those nails do get long enough, make sure to swipe a quick clear, classy coat on.
Not Reading Enough
Are you surprised by this? You shouldn’t be. Creating a good habit is just as hard as breaking a bad one. But guess what? Knowledge is power and knowledge is inspiring. Reading fiction or non fiction will give you alternative ways of thinking and a chance to look at something from a different perspective.
Not only is that important for us now, but it becomes even more important as we age. Every elderly person I know with a clear brain that’s made it to 85+ has had one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? Keeping their brains active through reading, puzzles and maintaining a healthy schedule.
Want a great book to start out with? Atomic Habits is a free audio book available through Amazon with an audio trial. It boosts tiny changes for major results. It’s not always about a huge change. Positive steps in the right direction deserve just as much credit.
When all else fails you can always Unfu*k Yourself Unadulterated advice to get past the blocks you’ve potentially created in your mind.
5 Tips to Help Break Your Bad Habit
- Figure out the real reason you want to stop the habit
- Be aware of your triggers
- Find healthier habits to replace the bad one with
- Help yourself be accountable by telling others about your goal
- Reward yourself for positive changes
I hope that my tips to fix your bad habits will help you reflect on change that might be needed in your life too. What are you currently working on? I love adding things to my own personal radar.
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