6  Tips To Eliminate Bad Habits To Reach Your Goals

Bad habits. You know them. Drinking too much, staying up very late at night and waking up after everyone else, spending all your time on social media, overspending your money, and the list goes on.

Did you know that you are a result of your habits? All the successful people you can name such as Chris Kirubi and others were not all born rich.

In fact, Chris Kirubi was a very poor young man in his youth. But the habits he formed years ago have pushed him to become very successful. Read about his success tips here 

The secret to being successful stems from your habits.

What bad habits can you name? I, for instance, struggled with waking up early a while back. I knew I needed to be up early to get more work done, but I slept till almost 8.00 am, yet I had to be at work at 8.30 am. But all that changed, when I decided to change my bad habit.

Bad habits are very addictive, isn’t it? And most of the time, they hinder us from reaching our goals in life.

I am certain there’s something you want to change, find out how you can do it using the following tips:

How to eliminate bad habits

1.Give it a month

It takes 21 days to break a habit. So, give yourself a month to work on changing that bad habit. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, decide to go without smoking for the next 30 days.

Yes, it’s going to be hard. Yes, you might fall back the first few days, but the simple secret is to keep going.

Don’t give up after a few days.  You will get used to the change within no time.

Read Also >>> 4 Money Habits You Need In Your 20’s To Live A Better Life in 10 Years

 2. Replace your habits

When you drop a habit, replace it immediately. If you know you spend so many hours on the internet and social media for example, and you’d like to change that, replace that time with something constructive like volunteering, enrolling for a certificate course, or joining a sport.

If you don’t replace the bad habit, there’s a high chance that you will fall back into it.

3. Deal with one challenge at a time

Breaking a habit is a real battle. Go easy on yourself by tackling one challenge at a time.

Don’t quit drinking, eating unhealthy food, and oversleeping all at the same time. It takes a lot of effort to replace a habit. Therefore, don’t be too hard on yourself.

If you are working on changing 4 habits, that’s only four months away. Tackle each challenge independently.

4. Remove your triggers.

Triggers are any temptations that can cause you to go back to your old habit. For example, you might be trying to move on from your ex. Keeping their contacts can be a trigger that can remind you of the past, and make you unable to move on.

Also, if you want to quit drinking, for instance, you must avoid places and people that can trigger you to fall out from your plans.

5. Be a scientist

This is not the time to be emotional about the change that is about to take place. Think and act like a scientist. Have the attitude of wondering how it might turn out if you replace that bad habit.

How will life be when you start waking up early? What will happen when you start saving instead of overspending?

Think about the future rewards.

Related Article >>> 10 Habits That Will Make You Happy and Productive Every day

6. Be consistent

I can talk to you about consistency all day long because it has affected my life in such a positive way.

I’m sure you can think of all the things you have ever planned to do, but you slowly gave up on them after some time. Remember the initial excitement of starting a business, for example, but you gave up on the dream weeks later.

What happened? You became inconsistent. You stopped caring about the idea.

The same concept applies when it comes to changing bad habits. You have to be consistent. If you plan to be waking up at 6.00 am every day, be consistent.

It is the repeating of a new positive habit that will help you change your bad habit.

In a nutshell, breaking a habit is not easy, especially when you were used to a certain way of life. But I’m sure you’d like to change some things. Constantly remind yourself of the pain caused by the bad habit and have a set mind to change it, no matter what!

In due time, you will be living a different life, one that you are happy and proud of.

 Susan is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Got questions or comments? Email: susan@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke