How to Break Bad Habits: Simple & Effective Ways

Are bad habits preventing you from living the life you want? Or hindering your success? Looking for ways to break bad habits?

Then you’re in the right place.

Small bad habits usually seem inconsequential, but they can create a compound effect over time that negatively affects your life.

It’s time to wake up, break those unhealthy habits and learn new routines that will improve your life.

Here are tips to help you break bad habits to live a happier life, and how some common habits affect your life.

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How to break bad habits

It’s not what you do once in a while that takes your life to the next level, it’s what you do consistently. Terri Savelle Foy

Bad habits are difficult to change and typically can’t be changed overnight, well at least if you want to replace them with lasting good habits.

Say you want to cut out junk foods, if you choose to quit cold turkey. Clean out your kitchen, get rid of all things junk, and start eating healthy immediately.

Well, guess what it won’t last unless you are a totally disciplined person. After a while, you will lose momentum, get cravings, and become unable to resist the temptations of eating junk.

Whenever you lose an unhealthy habit, you are bound to replace it with a new habit. Why not make it a good habit that will have a positive impact on your life?

So if you want to stop eating snacks, try replacing them with a healthier version, instead of getting rid of snacks altogether.

Also, try using a habit tracker to track your habits. It’s a great way to stay motivated because habit trackers provide visual evidence of the work you’re doing daily.

Make minor adjustments to change bad habits

As explained in The Compound Effect, start out slow. Because small compounded changes can and will have a monumental impact on your life in the long run.

Keep a slow and steady pace until you no longer feel the need to revert to your bad habits.

In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy explained that when trying to form new habits, take it slow, and gain momentum, to make the habit stick.

When you start a new routine, giving a 100% at once makes it difficult to stick to it. 

The Compound Effect is a must-read for anyone looking to transform their lives and find success. Darren teaches how making minor changes over time can create a compound effect leading to huge results.

Forget about instant gratification

Instant gratification is a trap. Like having ice cream every night when you are trying to lose weight. It tastes good going down, but the extra calories add up.

Get yourself out of the habit of doing something just because it’s easy and feels good.

As The Compound Effect puts it, if you immediately had a heart attack from eating a burger, then am guessing you wouldn’t be so eager to eat it, would you? Didn’t think so.

So every time you’re about to break the pattern of forming a good habit, ask yourself is it really worth it, will I feel any better after doing this?

Darren Hardy also explains that the negative effects of your bad habits are often not instantly notice, because instant gratification usually out weights our rational thought process.

That’s why it so easy to fall into and stay in the trap of living with bad habits.

Your reason for breaking bad habits

Another tip in breaking bad habits is to find the motivation behind why you need to lose that habit. Your motivation needs to be greater than your desire to continue your unhealthy habit.

The Compound Effect explains that your motivation should be related to your core values, that you believe in and will fight for.

So, every time you feel the need to revert back, think of your motivation. This motivation has to be strong enough to make you want to improve your life.

Your why should prevent you from falling back into your old routine and keep you on course. This motivation or why power will prevent you from quitting.

Remove the trigger causing the bad habits

Whatever thing or person around you causing you to stick to your unpleasant habit. Identify it and remove it. This can be stress, your partner, frustration…

If you are trying to eat healthily, but you’re an emotional eater, then it doesn’t help to have junk foods in your house, or not bringing a healthy lunch to work.

If stress is your trigger, find stress management techniques to help you cope.

Let people around you know of your desire to change and set boundaries.

Once you can identify your trigger and the behaviors associated with it, you can start making changes.

Reward small wins to encourage good habits

It will take time to form new good routines and you will have slip-ups, don’t beat yourself up.

Don’t allow this to deter you from reaching your goals. You may get to a point of seeming defeat, it’s a part of the process. So don’t quit.

Therefore, rewarding simple winds helps along the way. It gives you something to look forward to. Like a pat on the back.

Be persistent to break bad habits

Established habits are hard to break. Most of what we do, think, and feel is based on learned behavior.

If they weren’t, most of us wouldn’t still be doing the same dumb things that get us nowhere. But comfortably unhappy.

These habits are engrained in our subconscious, so it will take time and effort to override them.

By replacing it with good habits and staying persistent, you will learn new behaviors.

Stop making excuses for bad habits

No one cares what your excuses are! we’ve heard it all, so make a commitment and stick to it.

Would you let your friend off the hook for constantly breaking their promises to you with some lame ass excuse? Didn’t think so.

So why be lazy and let yourself down? Make a commitment to change your bad habits and stick to them, no matter what. Stay focused on the result!

List of bad habits to break and how to break them for a happier, better life

Unhealthy smoking habit

Smoking a cigarette is one of the worst addicting habits anyone can have. That’s why quitting can become so difficult.

“Of the over 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful.” (source) 

Smoking a cigarette is one of the leading causes of premature deaths, such as lung disease, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Smoking harms every organ in the body and diminishes your overall health. (source)

If these are not good enough reasons to quit smoking, then check your values. Are there people in your life worth kicking the habit for?

The habit of not drinking enough water

Water is essential to our health, but sadly most of us never drink enough.

We need water for proper bowel function, youthful-looking skin, and to maintain the body’s fluid balance.

Not drinking enough water can cause dehydration, headache, fatigue, dry skin, low energy, and mental fog.

Are those enough reasons to drink more?

Not getting enough sleep is a habit!

Sleep is vital to our health and wellbeing. Whenever I don’t get quality sleep, I feel irritable, drained, and get a migraine.

Sleep reduces your body’s stress hormone, improves memory, enhance cognitive function and productivity.

Sleep also helps the body to repair itself, boost your mood, and enhance athletic performance.

Create good sleeping habits, by following a bedtime routine catering to your needs. This could include reducing screen time 1hour before bed, yoga, meditation…

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is in your daily routine. -John C. Maxwell

The bad snacking habit

Indulging in unhealthy snacks throughout the day is problematic.

While healthy snacking can boost nutrient intake.

Careless snacking increases caloric intake, proving little to no nutrient and contributes to overall health problems. Such as tooth decay, weight gain…

Binge watching YouTube or Netflix

Ain’t nothing wrong with watching a bit of entertainment!

But spending hours daily watching TV or on YouTube is a nasty habit that can damage your mental health, create negative thoughts, and prevent you from reaching your goals.

If you feel you cannot resist turning it off, reduce the time spent watching it.

Or find something knowledgeable to make the experience more beneficial. Like a documentary!

The habit of hitting snooze in the morning

I am guilty of doing this every morning! I swear the bed doesn’t want me to leave it! It’s like a trap. Once you’re in, you can’t leave! But am working on it.

This all starts with a bedtime routine that helps you get in bed at an optimal time when your mind is less active.

Try putting your alarm far away from the bed or once it goes off, turn it off and sit up in bed.

Read my post on The Morning Routine That Changed My Life for ideas to create your own morning routine.

Check out our habit tracker printable, get instant access with PDF download.

Hey, did you know we have an Etsy shop? Visit our shop KazrusPrintables to find more planners, habit trackers, mood trackers, mood journals and much more.

Canceling your workout sessions

Can’t seem to stick to a workout plan?

Find an accountability partner you can exercise with. If you need to cancel, then explain to them why you’re being lazy and blowing them off.

Also, find your motivation for wanting to be healthy. If you don’t feel like a workout, then maybe your reason for wanting to exercise is not strong enough.

Think about why is getting fit important to you?

Blaming others for your misfortune is a bad habit to beat

An important part of being a responsible adult is taking responsibility for your actions. Being accountable.

Never fall into the habit of blaming others for your shit.

People who look outside of themselves to blame others have lower performance levels, cannot take ownership, and unable to learn from their mistakes.

Taking responsibility for your actions allows you to feel empowered and in control.

Bad habit of procrastination

Procrastination is a bad habit most of us have because it prevents us from taking immediate action.

It often reflects your lack of self-control and is a form of self-deception.

Because you know what the consequences of not acting are, but you ignore it anyway.

We may avoid taking action if a task is too big, difficult, and not enjoyable.

Try the 20-minute rule. Whatever task you have to complete set a 20-minute timer to work on it. When the timer goes off, continue if you feel the need.

Most often you have a momentum going, and may want to continue.

A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time. -Mark Twain

The habit of overspending

A simple way to break this habit is by recording every penny you spend. Yes. Everything.

I learnt this technique from The Compound Effect. Keep a notebook with you wherever you go, and if you spend a dollar, record it.

Then at the end of every week or month review your spending.

This will become annoying to record everything. If you want to buy a coffee, the idea of having to record this will hopefully deter you from buying it.

Recording everything you spend also helps you track where your money is going.

Get yourself an accountability partner that reviews your spending. This should keep you on tract.

Overeating habit

Prevent over eating by having healthy snacks throughout the day and never skip a meal.

Not recording or sticking to your goals

Yes, this is a habit. Because if you want to be successful, recording your goals and working on them help you become successful.

If you never record them, how can you stay focus on them?

The habit of skipping breakfast

Have a healthy breakfast or make a quick smoothie to nourish your body to perform at optimal capacity.

Skipping breakfast may cause you to overeat and reduce your daily recommended nutrient intake. Try these healthy vegan smoothie recipes.

Breakfast replenishes the stores of energy and nutrients in your body, it improves your ability to concentrate and may help you control your weight. (source)

Allowing negative self-talk

Don’t be a victim of negative self-talk it’s a bad habit. This can hinder you from being confident.

Your inner critics can also limit your ability to make positive changes. It judges, belittles, and consumes you with negative energy.

A general rule is if you would never say it to a friend, never say it to yourself.

Replace these negative thoughts with positive nurturing words. Next time you hear that nagging negative voice tell it to shut up!

Related: How to Remove Negativity From Your Life And Start Living

Forgetting to put your needs before others

Avoid putting others’ needs above your own. If you give all of you, catering to the needs of others you will get burnout, and resentful.

Learn to say no, respectfully. It’s me before we, and that’s not selfish. If you are not feeling your best, you cannot give your best.

Neglecting your self-care routine

Have a quality self-care routine to realign your mental, spiritual and physical health.

Most of us have no self-care routine, we glide through life with no thought to be kind to ourselves. That’s when stress and frustration creep in.

Related: Self-Care Ideas For Women: Free & Cheap Ideas To Treat Yourself

Ordering takeout too often is a bad habit

Don’t be lazy, cook your own meal. Think of how much you could be saving.

The habit of allowing people to walk over you

Set boundaries and make them known to people around you.

You get from life what you tolerate, what you tolerate is what you think you are worthy of.

Do you think you’re worthy of being respected?

Never allow someone to walk over you just to avoid making them uncomfortable if you speak up.

Final thoughts

You are the sum of everything you do every day. If you are determined and consistent enough, you can change bad habits.

As discussed in The Compound Effect when you make small changes, they add up over time to create a monumental effect to change your life.

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