 |
| Transform bad habits ilustration (pexels.com/Karolina Grabowska) |
Changing habits is not an easy task. We often come across heavy smokers who desperately want to quit but fail on their first attempt. Habits are formed over time; they don't just come out of thin air. Changing them is not a simple matter, despite appearing easy. For instance, on a regular day, we may be able to wake up at 5 a.m., but on a holiday, getting up early becomes a challenging task. When you want to replace the habit of sleeping in on holidays, you won't succeed immediately. Some may succeed if there's an urgent need to do so. When there are no sudden events, our brain immediately recognizes that it's a holiday and the concept of sleeping in is deeply ingrained.
When you have an unhealthy habit associated with a serious illness, you have no choice but to change it. It's not easy to change habits, and even health experts sometimes struggle to provide specific advice on changing habits. Although some patients have succeeded, relapses can occur along the way. But don't be pessimistic because there are those who have succeeded by repeatedly implementing new habits. So, what are the steps to changing habits?
7 Steps to Changing Habits
Changing habits means transforming what exists in our minds. Before embarking on this journey, it's important to identify which habit you want to change and why. You've probably heard the advice, "If you want to quit, remember why you started." To make the new habit last, you need to change the automatic system behind that habit. For example, if you usually take a shower immediately after waking up, this action becomes automatic—you don't need to think about it anymore. So, when you want to change a habit, you need to persist in implanting that automatic system. Here are the steps:
1. Start with one habit
It's guaranteed that when we try to change everything at once, we don't always succeed. The right way to replace a habit is by changing one habit at a time. Because if we fail midway, we have to start over from the beginning. Choose one new habit, such as "drinking a glass of water when waking up." The easy way is to imagine ourselves waking up and immediately grabbing a glass of water before actually waking up. Visualize the process from waking up, sitting on the bed, getting up, taking the glass, pouring the water, and then drinking it. Repeat this habit for three consecutive weeks. After three weeks, everything will become easier.
2. Identify the triggers
Choose which habit you want to change, then find the reasons and triggers behind it. For example, if you want to change the habit of staying up late, which usually happens because you often browse the internet at night, replace that habit by going to bed earlier and waking up earlier to browse. Find triggers that encourage you to sleep early, such as turning off your computer, disconnecting from the internet, or practicing meditation that helps you decide to sleep earlier. Discover the reasons why you need to change that habit, such as staying up late affecting your performance during the day or causing health issues.
3. Commitment
After deciding to change a habit, try to commit to it. Write down when you will start and set a target for when you expect the habit to change. Don't dwell on the difficulties in the process, such as if you want to quit smoking, don't dwell on how difficult it is to achieve that. Focus on the reasons and triggers.
4. Break the routine
When we repeatedly do something over a period of time, our minds no longer think about it; it becomes autopilot. In autopilot mode, our minds are no longer fully focused on what we're doing. This often happens in our daily lives, like when we eat, our minds sometimes wander to other things like pending work, the state of our home, reminiscing about the past, or daydreaming about the future. If left unchecked, our thoughts will jump around, leading to various thoughts and anxieties.
An easy way to avoid an action becoming autopilot is by doing different patterns every day, such as taking a different route home from work. If you usually use private transportation, try using public transportation occasionally. This also trains the brain to adapt to change. Deeply rooted habits require extra effort and time to change.
5. Visualization alarm
Create a visualization alarm when you're unable to resist the urge to engage in your old habit. For example, if you're craving sweet food but can't have it due to health reasons, imagine yourself eating the sweet food and then being in a hospital room, waiting for a blood test because your blood sugar spiked.
6. Reward yourself for success
When you successfully maintain the new habit for three consecutive weeks, think about the reward you'll receive. Of course, the reward shouldn't contradict the new habit. Don't reward yourself with a cigarette if you're trying to quit smoking. Think about an item you want to buy, but delay the purchase until you've successfully changed the habit for three weeks. This can serve as motivation to stay strong in the face of challenges. If it's difficult to commit, ask someone to monitor and remind you.
7. Don't give up
Changing habits is not as easy as flipping a switch. It requires determination and strong motivation to follow through. Also, the support of loved ones is essential. When you encounter failure, don't give up immediately and declare that it's impossible. Remember, this is just how the brain works! Keep trying again and again. Identify the triggers for those failures and strive to overcome them even better.
What's the key to successfully changing habits?
You need to repeat the process over and over to change automatic actions. Psychological researchers have shown that simple activities performed repeatedly can help change habits. Or you can remember the acronym TIP:
- Think: Think about and write down what you want to change.
- Imagine: Imagine the habit in great detail as you take the steps to change it. You can also imagine the feelings involved, such as "I feel nervous speaking in public, but I need to do it to progress. So, I will focus on what I believe needs to be done."
- Practice: Start implementing the steps mentioned above and put them into practice.
Comments
Post a Comment