Weed Out Negative Habits to Your Let Life Blossom
We all do things that annoy other people or even hold us back from achieving success. Our own habits often irritate us – even though we're the guilty party. But despite this, we continue with our destructive behavior. Think about bad habits as weeds that have the potential to choke out the important, beautiful and beneficial plants in our gardens.
It's time to get rid of annoying habits!
Here are ways to eliminate bad habits:
Identify the issue. To get rid of a weed, you must first see it. Bad habits are the same. Once you recognize your undesirable behaviors, you'll have taken the first step towards doing something about them.
Increase self-awareness. When you’ve identified the weed, take note of how it chokes the beneficial plants you are trying to cultivate. Negative habits result in negative consequences.
For example, when you interrupt your partner (the bad habit), their feelings get hurt, or they get angry (the negative consequence).
When you binge watch TV (the bad habit), you don’t complete the online class you signed up for, or you end up going to bed too late and can’t get up early enough to exercise (the negative consequence).
Make a conscious decision. If you want to eliminate a negative habit, you must choose to stop it.
Rather than saying, “I’ll try not to interrupt my partner,” say, “I will not interrupt my partner.”
Build in a safety net. Have a plan for when you stumble. It will help you get back on track.
For example, tell yourself, “If I accidentally interrupt my partner, I’ll stop talking and immediately apologize.”
Divert. Some habits can be combated by diverting our attention.
For example, when your co-worker arrives with a box of donuts, you could retreat to your office, close the door, and check your email.
Or you could talk to your supervisor about a project you’re working on. Do something positive. Not only will you avoid the temptation, but you’ll accomplish something positive as well!
Replace old habits with new, good, behaviors. Replacement lets you implement a positive habit rather than the negative one you’re trying to avoid.
For example, rather than eating a donut, you could eat some fruit or go for a walk.
Expect relapses, but stop the old behavior immediately. In the beginning, you’ll likely backslide into familiar, bad habits. Stop the behavior the moment you notice it. Keep doing this and you'll rid yourself of that habit.
Weed out negative habits and live in a “garden” that’s positive, healthy, and happy.
