5 Bad Habits We Need To Change

It's time to confront the bad habits that are always holding us back! On this episode, I give you some tips on how we can break free from all these unhealthy behaviors.

Habits are an inevitable part of our lives. Some of them are taught to us by our parents at a young age, some are developed over time with how we live day to day. And developing habits is a powerful thing, in both a good and bad way.

There are some behaviors that become so ingrained that we see them as just “normal parts” of our daily routine without realizing the effect they actually have on us mentally, emotionally, or physically.

So how do you know if a habit is actually “bad?” Ask yourself: Does this habit have more negative effects than positive? Will this habit do me more harm than good in the long run? If you answered yes to these questions, it’s time to change things up!

Replacing Bad Habits with Good Ones

According to bestselling author James Clear, most of our bad habits are caused by two things: Stress and boredom. We develop bad habits as a way of coping with these two things, but we can teach ourselves new ways to do so.

He says that we don’t need to eliminate bad habits, we need to REPLACE them. Why is that? Because our habits are in our lives for a reason – they fulfill certain needs, like managing stress, or calming us down. And completely removing a habit means there’s a need that is not being fulfilled, and it will be harder to stick to that resolution. So instead, we should develop behaviors that will fulfill those same needs, but are good for us.

Sara Del Villar of the channel Psych2Go names these steps in breaking a bad habit and replacing it with a good one:

1) Identify the habit.

2) Find the triggers. Is this habit a response to your emotions? Your environment? A particular situation?

3) Take baby steps – break it down into small, doable actions.

4) Change the environment.

5) Find a substitute. Develop better alternative/s, and visualize the new, better habits you hope to engage in.

Here are some common unhealthy habits, and concrete steps you can take to change them:

**Bad Habit 1: Hitting the Snooze Button**

I’m sure we’re all guilty of this. Sleep is precious! Hitting that snooze button is very tempting when we want a few more minutes in bed, but we can easily abuse it. Then we end up waking up late, feeling groggy and unprepared for the day. Popular motivational speaker **Mel Robbins** says that hitting snooze actually disrupts our sleep cycle, so although we think you’re getting a few extra minutes of rest, the brain actually becomes less productive and alert because we’re constantly “rebooting our system.”
**Take action:**
Try putting your alarm clock or phone far away from your bed so that you’re forced to stand up to turn the alarm off.
Disable the snooze button on your phone, so that you can’t use it at all.

**Bad Habit 2: Being Late**

One of the most infamous Filipino traits! Just because it has become “normalized,” doesn’t mean being late is acceptable or good. Being early, or on time, is still the best practice especially for important appointments like job interviews, doctor visits, exams, and the like.
**Take action:**
When going somewhere, target to arrive EARLY instead of right on time, have something to keep yourself occupied to pass the time while waiting. For example, you have a doctor’s appointment at 10AM. Target to arrive by 9:45 and maybe bring a book to read while you wait for your doctor to become available. If you do arrive early, then great, you won’t be bored with your extra 15 minutes! If you arrive on time, at least you’re not late and not keeping anyone waiting.
Set alarms to help you keep track of time. This can be multiple alarms, like one to remind you that you need to leave the house in 10 minutes, leave the house in 5 minutes, leave the house now, etc.

**Bad Habit 3: Stress Eating**

Food can be a very comforting thing, and we can turn to eating when we’re feeling stressed or down. And that’s not a bad thing, of course we all need to nourish our bodies. BUT we should watch out for when this becomes an unhealthy habit: If we eat too much junk food and sugary sweets, if it leads to excessive weight gain, and if we are just eating to keep ourselves occupied rather than eating out of hunger.
**Take action:**
Stock your pantry with more healthy options and lessen the junk. That way, you’ll be more inclined to grab the healthy snacks that are already within reach. Going out to buy junk food or spending more money on delivery will just become a hassle.
Find a simple stress-relieving activity that can replace unnecessary snacking, like taking a walk outside, kicking a ball around, or having playtime with your pets. You can even reward yourself with a little treat after, like your favorite fruit, so that you still satisfy a bit of that hunger without going overboard.

**Bad Habit 4: Overspending**

We’re in a digital age where buying things is made super easy. Especially during the
pandemic, we’re online shopping more than ever! And with the huge variety of products available at the click of a button, it’s easy to go overboard and start spending our hard-earned money on products we don’t need or we won’t end up using at all.
**Take action:**
Improve your budget. Instead of setting just one big budget that you follow monthly, break the budget down further into categories like groceries, bills, clothing, gas, and an amount set aside to treat yourself.
Unsubscribe from emails or notifications from your usual online stores so that you don’t get tempted to browse through every single new collection, sale, or special offer.

**Bad Habit 5: Negative Self Talk**

Being aware of our own flaws and weaknesses is an important aspect of self-improvement. However, we need to recognize when we are starting to degrade ourselves and focus only on the negative. Ultimately, this can hinder us from self-growth instead of uplift us.
**Take action:**
⦾ Let your first thoughts in the morning be good, thankful ones. See the positive side of even the most mundane situations. Instead of thinking, “I hate waking up early, I’m not a morning person, it’s gonna be a slow day at work.” Try thinking, “I hope something good happens for me today. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m grateful to have a stable job.” (Steve Harvey)
⦾ Use the word “but” to overcome negative self talk (James Clear). Turn that negative thought into something you can work on! For example: “I failed my exam, *but* I can improve by studying harder and giving more effort in class.”
⦾ Create new mantras or phrases that better reflect who you are and who you want to become (Jim Kwik). What are your good traits? What gifts do you have that can improve your wellbeing and the world around you? Take a deep breath and remember these mantras when you start to think negatively about yourself.

Remember that changing your habits is not an overnight thing. It’s a process that will take conscious effort and consistency. So don’t be hard on yourself if you slip up a few times. Do you have other ways of transforming bad habits into good ones? What are some habits you’ve successfully gotten rid of? Tell us in the comments!