How to Break a Bad Habit by 4 Methods
How to Break a Bad Habit (get rid of a bad habit)
Do people around you often yell:
I’m so fat and want to lose weight!
So poor, I want to save money!
Tired and want to go to bed early!
But never watched them change?
Most people think that it is difficult to get rid of bad habits because of insufficient self-discipline, but in fact, they can easily get rid of bad habits without relying on self-discipline or willpower.
Today I will tell you: what is the most effective way, if you also want to know how to break a bad habit, then continue reading!
The first thing you must know is: How are your habits established?
The habit is that you do one thing repeatedly until you can repeat it without thinking.
The setting of the brain is to save energy as much as possible, “no thinking” means “no energy consumption”.
So when choosing between two similar options, people naturally tend to choose the one with the least effort, so it is easy to get used to dominating our lives and choices.
The formation of habits will follow a certain path, this path is called the Four Rules of Behavior Change.
These four laws are actually four interlocking steps, namely reminder/desire/response/reward.
In other words, the habit will be generated, it must first be stimulated by the environment, that is, the “prompt”.
This hint may stimulate our “cravings”.
Next, our thinking will determine what actions should be taken to “respond” to this prompt.
If a satisfactory result is obtained after taking action, the brain will be rewarded to strengthen this interlocking process.
The next time when the same prompt is encountered, the brain will automatically respond similarly, which is the generation of habits.
For Example
When it’s time to go to bed, lie on the bed but don’t want to sleep yet, and want to find something to pass the time, pick up the mobile phone on the bedside table and start sliding, so the desire to pass the time is satisfied.
When the next time for bedtime arrives, after repeating the same action several times, the habit of sliding the phone before going to bed is formed.
After understanding the four steps of habit formation, as long as we break each step for each step, we can successfully break the loop that shapes the habit, so we can quit bad habits smoothly!
Below we will continue to use the example of a mobile phone before bedtime to illustrate what actions you can take to quit bad habits.
Method 1: Make the “hint” hidden
Method 1: Make the “hint” hidden
First of all, the first element that leads to habit is “hint”.
So the first trick to break the loop is to weaken or even completely disappear the prompt.
In the example of sliding the phone before bedtime, you need to make the “hint” that you want to pick up the phone disappear. The best way is to mute the phone or directly turn on the do not disturb mode.
Method 2: Make “craving” unattractive
The second step is to eliminate “cravings” or make the original desires no longer attractive.
For example, making the phone slide before going to bed becomes very uninteresting and even harmful.
You can list the disadvantages of sliding your phone before going to bed, such as: easy to cause cataracts, glaucoma, easy to affect sleep quality and even insomnia.
Use the disadvantages to reduce your “craving” for sliding your phone before going to bed.
You can also think about the reasons for sliding your phone before going to bed.
If you don’t want to sleep, if you want to find something to pass the time, you can do other things to pass the time, such as reading, listening to music, meditation, etc.
Or don’t go to bed when you don’t want to sleep, and stay on the sofa or desk until you want to sleep before going to bed.
This will also connect going to bed (hint) with sleeping (craving), reducing the craving that you can’t sleep while lying in bed.
Method 3: Make “action” extremely difficult
The third step is to respond, that is, the actions that you will unconsciously take to prompt and desire.
So you must increase the difficulty of this action to reduce the willingness to perform this action.
For example: put the phone at the door of the room to increase the distance between you and the phone.
Or lock certain apps on the phone at regular intervals.
If you want to open these apps within the time, you need to reset or enter the password.
Complicates the usual smooth movements.
Method 4: Make the “consequences” unsatisfactory
The fourth step is reward or punishment, which is the last step of the brain to decide whether to form a habit loop.
If you don’t want habits to form, you have to let the consequences dissatisfy you.
You can make good use of the scoreboard, record the performance of the previous night after getting up the next morning, and give yourself a punishment if you have failed to accumulate three times.
The more extreme way is that you can find one or more contractors.
The way for multiple contractors is to post in the community, announcing that you will not slide your phone after 12 o’clock.
If someone catches evidence that you are sliding your phone, please have a big meal.
This article summarizes
After understanding the principle of quitting bad habits, you can use the same principles to build good habits.
Whether it is a bad habit or a good habit, they have a compound interest effect, which means that the longer the habit is maintained, the greater his influence will be.
Even if you only step back one percent every day, after one year, you will become closer to 0;
Relatively, if you progress by 1% every day, you will grow 37 times in a year.
So don’t underestimate the power of habit.
Try this content to break a bad habit, build good habits, and become a better self!
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