HEALTH

Eating a balanced diet, going to bed early or working out three times a week are all habits—and good ones at that. In general, a habit is a repeated practice or routine that is usually hard to give up. Good habits are behaviors that benefit your mental and/or physical health.

But what about those bad habits? You know, the nail biting, procrastinating or hitting the snooze button every morning. According to Robert Taibbi for Psychology Today, good and bad habits are determined by how *you* view them. They're also based on how much control you apply to them. Making your bed only one time out of the whole week might be a bad habit for you but could be a good habit for another girl who's trying to be better with that.

Regardless of what your bad habits may be, here's how you can kick them to the curb!

Replace bad habits with, well, good ones
Breaking habits begin with deciding what habits you're trying to get rid of. Once you know the habits that you have and how they are negatively affecting your life, you need to substitute that habit with positive, doable behaviors. For example, if you want to stop leaving your room messy, your plan would be putting your clothes away right after taking them off, or making your bed as soon as you get up. Set concrete plans that will help break those habits with new, positive ones.

Know your triggers
Habits don't change in one night. Sometimes, you can go a long period of time without doing that habit, and then boom, something triggers that old behavior and before you know it you're back to doing that habit. Identify what triggers the habit and try to remove them. If it's eating junk food, keep them away from your sight. If it is something more abstract like biting your nails, try to remain aware of what you are doing and why.

Reward Yourself!
Every day that you don't commit that bad habit is progress. If you want to stop procratinating on your homework, get away from outside distractions and work on that assignment for a certain period of time. Once that time is up, reward yourself with your phone or a snack. If you want to stop spending money on food, reward that money that you saved up not buying food with a new outfit. That way, you get to see all the progress you've made in a more distinct way.

Remember that breaking bad habits take time. Dont beat yourself up about it when you mess up. Keep doing your best and always look at the progress you've been making!

by Toyin Akinwande | 6/15/2019