breaking habits

8 Tips For Breaking Habits

The first thing to say is don’t worry about it. We all fall into bad habits every now and then. But how do you get out of it? How can you get better at breaking habits so that you can build your self confidence?

Not wishing to get too dramatic about it but breaking habits or starting a good habit really can make a huge difference to your confidence levels.

Have you downloaded The 4 Step Confidence Plan?

Here are some tips which will help

1. Don’t try to do too much at once. Tackle one habit at a time.
2. It won’t happen over night. It takes at least 21 days to break or form a habit.
3. Write down what it entails and what changes you will have to make in your lifestyle.
4. Tell people about it, don’t keep it secret. That way you’ll feel more accountable.
5. Track your progress carefully, each day. Keep a diary of events.
6. Think about how you can reward yourself when you succeed.
7. If you fail, work out why and then try again.
8. Never, never, never give up.

OK, so what’s first?

Pretty simple really; you need to flick a switch. You need to flick the switch in your head. It’s ‘off’ at the moment. ‘Off’ means you’ll carry on as normal. ‘On’ means accepting that change is going to happen. You’ll never be able to flick the switch though if you don’t start thinking positively.

So, you’ll need to commit yourself

But how?

Commitment comes through self-discipline and positive thinking. Without these, you’ll have no chance with any of the other habits you take on. I worked this out when I failed at writing my first book. I failed for one simple reason; I fell into the trap of thinking negatively about it. Eventually I successfully convinced myself that it was a bad idea; I didn’t have enough time, knowledge, expertise, ability, self-discipline.

But when I learnt how to ignore negative thoughts and focus on the positives instead, it wasn’t long before I’d made a start.

To break a habit – you’ll need to form a habit. The habit of positive thinking

You’ll need self-discipline. Be more aware of when you start thinking and talking negatively. Make a note of when this happens and when you’re most vulnerable. Then correct yourself. Do this religiously until you’re in the habit. One tip is to stay away from negative people; they’ll just make it more difficult for you. So mix with positive people – you’ll see a big difference in your own behaviour just by doing this.