Did you know that not making your bed in the morning is a bad habit and can prevent you from being successful?
A bad habit is a behavior repeated unconsciously that can be harmless but long term has negative consequences for your health, your success, and your relationships. They can be changed, but to do so, you first need to identify them because you have done it for so long that you don’t even know you are doing it. It’s not your fault, after all, you acquired these habits because you needed them to feel better, but like everything else, you need to upgrade your mind. Circumstances change, and your habits need to change too, you cannot continue doing the same and expect different results. How satisfied or successful you are in your life is a result of your habits.
Here is the good news: bad habits can be broken and replaced, and you can start right now! Here’s how:
First, state your problem out loud so that it is obviously identifiable; think of a problem you recently had, like an argument with a loved one, and then speak it out loud so you hear yourself say it.
Second, ask yourself, “how did I get to this problem? What was my role in this situation, and how was my behavior?”
Third, pay attention to how your behavior affects you and affects others. Identify those things as well.
Fourth, once you identify your behavior, you must identify your triggers. What were the emotions you were feeling, the situation you were in, the timing of the situation, the people involved, and the actions that made you make those choices on how you reacted and behaved. This should answer the question, “why did I behave like that”.
Last, find alternative behaviors that you could choose to apply to those circumstances instead, so that when those triggers come up in the future, you can respond better; the key is consistent action. Triggers are born from bad experiences that we had in the past that negatively affect us. When they are identified, properly attended to, and managed, they actually can help us create behaviors to avoid them from happening again.
These behaviors work when we repeat them, because the repetition creates habits, and in the long run, they can either make us better or make our lives miserable, depending on how we attended to them. What you need to know is that you can transform your life, and it’s as simple as reversing one habit at a time. Don’t make it so complicated! Start with identifying one problem, then find your answers by scanning yourself and asking the right questions. Be honest with yourself, and then take consistent action. You got this!
