How do you get rid of a bad habit?

Answer 1

People can get rid of bad habits by MOTIVATION, and DETERMINATION. Habits I must admit are usually hard to break. But as long as you set a goal and possibly give your self penalties (if you should slip back into your habit) you should eventually be able to break the habit. It would also help if you kept track of your progress.

To break a bad habit is very hard to do. I have a habit right now of cracking knuckles... It is so hard to actually break a habit... but it all really depends on that bad habit you have... is it smoking? knuckle cracking? You have to tell us to answer. Well if it is something like knuckle cracking or smoking you could try replacing you bad habit with a good one. You just have to find out what is a good one that won't damage you health or cause later problems for you in life. You could also try writting it down.. I tried this once and it worked for a long while but I just gave up. Write it down on a scrap piece of paper and then stare at it for a few seconds. Also write down on it why you want to quit. When ever you feel like you want to pick up a cigarette or you start to press your knuckle down think of that piece of paper or you could carry it with you. This will remind you what you are taking away from yourself.

Here are some good ways to help you break a bad habit:

• Set up a reward system for yourself - for every time you DON'T do the bad habit (or for a certain amount of time that you don't do it), give yourself a little reward, like put a quarter into a jar. Then, when you've totally kicked that habit, take the jar and buy something you like with all the money!
• Get support - tell your friends and family you're trying to break the habit and ask them to help you out and cheer you on. Having other people help you motivate yourself is much better than trying to do it all alone.
• Write out pros and cons - it helps to have a very clear idea of WHY you need to quit, so write down all the "good" things about your habit (for example, smoking gives you something to do with your hands, you enjoy the taste, etc) and then write down all the "bad" things (for example, being overweight means you can't do as much physically as healthier people, makes you more likely to have health problems like high blood pressure, etc). This gives you a very obvious list showing why you need to stop the habit.
• Get support Part 2 - find online support groups if you can. They'll help when friends and family can't be with you. Just type "quit ___" into your search engine (with the name of your bad habit in the blank) and see what comes up. There are plenty of free online support groups to pick from.
• Take it easy on yourself - remember that it took awhile for you to pick up that habit, so it's going to take awhile to stop it. Don't get discouraged if you slip up and have a hard time quitting. Just keep trying and eventually you will stop the bad habit.