Our life is greatly influenced by habits - established patterns of behavior. Change your life for the better without changing your habits is impossible. Old actions lead to old results. If you have been trying to change your life for a long time, but nothing is changing, then this article is for you.
You probably wondered more than once about why it is so difficult to change habits. For example, why is it so difficult to get rid of parasite words, or from the habit of rubbing your nose when talking? Or, with excitement, climb into the refrigerator for a chocolate bar?
You may have tried many times, but nothing worked. So, you either did not decide to firmly change your habits, you are satisfied with such a life as it is. But more often, you must admit, you just gave up because you didn’t succeed once, twice …. And why?
The secret is pretty simple. The wrong approach leads you. What does it mean?
Usually a person, when he does not manage to change his habit, blames the lack of willpower or “Monday syndrome” (the boss failed with work). And sometimes it simply sets the bar too high (for example, lose 30 kg in a month: if life is changed, then right away). But there is nothing to do with willpower. Yes, willpower can hold out for some time. And if you can withstand from 3 to 5 weeks, then perhaps you will get the desired result. But often the determination is not enough for such a time. The brain is overloaded from a huge number of new tasks. He just does not have time to keep track of everything! And everything returns to normal …
To get rid of an unwanted habit, you need to change the approach.
- First, learn to recognize signals. For example, think about what emotions cause a desire to smoke? Or what thoughts make you go to the fridge for sweets? Awareness is important!
- Secondly, replace an undesirable habit with a good one (instead of going for a sweet drink water). But in the search for replacement, it is important to consider the issue of remuneration. Remuneration must be determined. Must be here and now! As a rule, this is either pleasure or pain avoidance. Often, when you reach for sweets, you get pleasure, joy, but it happens that the pain is dulled. Replacement should give the same sensations and opportunities as the old habit. For example, try replacing the habit of eating sweets at night with a pleasant shower with chocolate or other aromatic gel. And remember, the reward must be instant! Otherwise, nothing will work.
In order to get rid of an unwanted habit successfully, you can use the following techniques.
- Look for intrinsic motivation. For example, if you want to lose weight in order to please someone, it is unlikely that any of this will work out. But if you are internally aware that your body feels much better after losing weight, you will most likely not stop.
- Introduce one daily habit at a time. Change life a little bit.
- Notice and praise yourself for small changes. If you solve a global problem right away, you will get stress, dissatisfaction. Small changes quickly become the norm. Notice them.
- Perform the actions of a new habit at the same time.
- Share your intentions with your friends. So there will be a responsibility.
- Find a person who will support and verify you. He will say in time: "Hold on! You will succeed!" Or create a "support circle" - invite friends or relatives to join.
- Enjoy the changes. Drive the panic away! A new habit should give you a reward - happiness, joy, pleasure. Remember, the mind will always have a negative dialogue with you. Do not succumb to negative emotions!
- And be thankful for every step you take. You will be wrong anyway. Allow yourself to be mistaken! But most importantly, get up and move on!