Have you visited my other site, The Stressed Mom?
Our lives are made up of habits. Things we do, mostly without thought.
We are what we repeatedly do... ~ Aristotle
We have good habits, such as:
- exercising
- choosing natural foods over processed
- drinking water instead of soda
- reading to our children
- calling our spouse at lunch
- saving money each payday
- flushing the toilet
- brushing our teeth
- smoking
- drinking too much
- staying up too late
- sleeping too late
- watching too much TV
- biting nails
- driving too fast
- spending too much
Replace bad habits with good habits
We probably did not make a conscious decision to start a bad habit, but it will definitely take a concentrated effort to STOP one.
Rather than just trying to quit a bad habit, many are more successful if they replace a bad habit with a good one.
For instance, if you smoke, and are trying to quit, carry gum to chew, or even better, something healthy like a bag of baby carrots or celery sticks to munch when the urge hits.
If you are not getting to bed early enough to get enough sleep and wake up feeling refreshed, there are several factors involved here. Think about a peaceful bedtime routine, your ideal routine. Maybe a hot bath, or reading a book, or snuggling with your spouse.
Now make a plan as to how you can create that evening routine and begin getting more rest. It will take willpower to turn off the TV or the laptop (and phone, and iPad!) but if you are replacing it with something enjoyable, it will be more easy to do.
Only tackle one habit at a time
Those who write about and study human habits suggest not trying to change multiple things at one time. That is why New Year’s resolution fail so many times, as a person is trying to change and implement 6 things at once.
A much better course of action is to choose 1 habit to change per month. Focus on that one habit, replacing your negative habit with something positive.
The next month, once the new habit (the good one) has become natural, then choose another habit to work on.
Creating a healthier diet, one step at a time
- I have stopped drinking soda or iced tea (we drink it SWEET in the South!)
- I eat probably 3 times the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in a day than I used to.
- I have cut 90% of processed foods out of my diet. I very rarely eat fast food, and stick to 2 restaurants that have food that is acceptable to me.
- Our meals are not based on meat most of the time, and we have several meatless meals a week.
Creating lasting change in YOUR life
- What were your resolutions this year?
- Have you been successful so far?
- How could you approach your resolutions differently to increase your chance of success?
- What habit do you really want to change?
Pin It
Thanks for the virtual ideas that you have share here, Thanks a lot.. Its really worthy.
Wenz28 recently posted..Online Dating Tips
[Reply]
Love your blog but I’m afraid I disagree!
Working on one thing at a time might work for some people but my brain seems to be wired to work on several things at once!
I’m the same with changes I want to make and projects I want to tackle.
For years, people have said that focusing on one thing at a time is the right way to go and I found I got nothing changed and no projects finished. As soon as I acknowledged that I LIKE doing several things at once, things started to happen!
JenP recently posted..Help100 – finally I’ve found a project!
[Reply]
bernicewood Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 11:30 am
You are absolutely right Jen. Some people DO work better while working on several things at once. Some people need to take bigger steps rather than baby steps. For me, in making changes to my diet, I can’t have some things in moderation, I have to cut it out completely. Eating 2 cookies a day with a whole box in the house will not work for me! So we removed ALL processed foods from the house, except for a few things like peanut butter and canned veggies.
I think the important thing is to figure out what works best for you as an individual. If you are having difficulty maintaining success in one manner, try something different. Especially if it a habit that is important to you, isn’t it worth it to experiment and see what works?
Thanks for your input!
[Reply]
Hi, Bernice!
Well, as i was considering your list of bad habits, I realized I do not have any, except that I may be spending too much. After all, I am a woman. I know it is a sorry excuse, but the rush and thrill of buying something has an exceptional effect of positive emotions. Of course, this could also be achieved even if not too much money is spent…but, what can I say in my defense? I can’t resist the promotions…:)
Cheers!
EleonoraEOF recently posted..MX-LS7 Review by Isatori
[Reply]
I really like reading your blog it has a lot of great info on it..thanks for sharing this post to us..
Tisha recently posted..The Gold Digger
[Reply]
Change is not about rushing every single thing to attain the final steps in our life , That’s why I keep in touch with the right things to do with even in a single step.
Doane16 recently posted..Why Cant I Get Pregnant
[Reply]
Thank you for sharing this useful kind of tips..Keep on sharing this to us..
Lindset recently posted..Cd Mastering Buffalo
[Reply]
Well to replace bad habits with good habits, is definitely challenging, that’s what i can say. But if you keep on trying, i think everyone can do that!
Andrew Walker recently posted..Beware of Coupon Temptation
[Reply]