How do you un-learn bad habits?

Answer 1

Here are some tips to help you un-learn bad habits so that you can replace them with healthier habits. * Become aware of the habit - once you realize that you are doing something that has become a bad habit, you can begin working on ways to stop yourself from doing that. * Set up a reward system - every time you succeed in resisting the bad habit, put money into a jar and use it to buy something you really want once you have broken the habiit, or set up a token system with your parents and save tokens instead of money, then trade the tokens in for a favor or other sort of reward from your parents. * Every time you catch yourself doing the habit, tell yourself "Stop!" and either think about something else - or if it is a physical habit, change your behaviour and do something else. If you want to quit biting your fingernails, for example, say "Stop!" and exercise your hands with an exercise ball, or draw a picture instead. * Get your friends and family to help out. Ask them to point out to you the times that you are doing the bad habit - not in a mean way, but just to help you catch yourself and change the behavior. You can even make a "secret code" where if they see you doing it, they say something like "I spy," or "Watch out."
You try and change them for the better. So let's just take smoking as an example. You'll need support and a friend and motivation to do it. It helps if you keep track of your progress so you can see how well you are doing. (Like a journal, chart, graph, etc..) It takes time and patience, and also encouragement from yourself and others.