#6: Replace bad habits with good ones. One of the best and easiest ways to get rid of unhealthy habits is to replace them with new habits. For example, earlier we mentioned late night eating. Rather than struggle with cravings while you’re sitting on the couch each night, brew a cup of green tea and change your habit to a good one, one that is healthy and beneficial for you.
#7: Seek support. Sometimes we just need a little help. We need an extra hand, a little encouragement, or someone to listen to us when we’re having a tough time. Support groups, friends and family can all be a great resource when trying to kick old habits.
#8: Stay positive. A good attitude is extremely helpful to kicking unhealthy habits. It helps to be able to focus on more positive thoughts when you’re trying to get rid of habits that are detrimental to your health. Before you set about accomplishing your goal, it helps to come up with a few methods for staying positive. Find what makes you happy and make note of it. When you’re having a negative thought or a tough moment, pull out your happy thought or your happy trigger and use it.
#9: Reward yourself. Reward yourself for accomplishing the small steps along the way and for making it through the tough times. For example, if you’re trying to cut out after dinner snacks and one particular evening you’re really craving something other than the tea you’ve been drinking, and you manage to avoid the bag of chips on the counter or the ice cream in the fridge, then you could reward yourself by getting your favorite coffee at the neighborhood coffee shop in the morning.
#10: Plan your success. Rather than trying to wing it, it is helpful to plan how you’re going to attain your goal. If you want to eliminate your habit of getting fast food for lunch each day, or you want to stop drinking coffee in the morning, how are you going to do it? Break your goal down into smaller, more manageable steps for easier success. For example you could stop going through the drive-thru four days out of the week but still go with your co-workers on Fridays. After a week or two of success, you may even find that you’re ordering a salad rather than a burger.
Small successes give us confidence for larger ones. You create a pattern of success and strength.