How can a person get rid of a bad habit?

Question

What do you have to do to stop yourself from doing a certain thing?

No it doesn't have something to do with my previous question.
One of my bad habits would be that I eat too much.

To Corky.
I used to be a chess addict too but somehow I forgot all about the game.
Thank God!

Answer 1

You must find another activity that you can make into a habit that will counter the bad habit. A substitute satisfaction that is WHOLESOME instead of the bad habit that is unbalancing you - that's why it's bad. You must not dwell on the bad habit but instead put your attention on something else that really interests you that is WHOLESOME. Something really exciting and that has the potential for concentrating all your energies. This new thing would probably be a talent or an ability that you did not know you had or that you knew you had but never really developed to any appreciable degree.
You must remove yourself as much as possible from the conditions in which your bad habit tends to be activated, and put yourself in new conditions that absorb your attention completely.
I can only give you one example from personal experience. I used to be a chess addict. I would buy 100's of dollars worth of chess books and chess sets. I would spend most of my time pouring over these books and playing chess with myself or others. I was a real chessoholic. I was disgusted with myself for wasting all this time and money on this meaningless game. I found that I had writing talent and so I 'switchtracks' to this activity which was much more absorbing and fulfillying. I have just finished my first play (SHADOWS KISS) and I no longer have any interest in chess. Of course, if your bad habit is chemical in origin then you must also seek out detoxing methods.

Answer 2

Any "bad" habit is the result of reinforcing behavior. Whether it is smoking or biting your nails, there is a positive reinforcement for the behavior that is somehow givine one pleasure and reward for the behavior. Being a 30 year smoker, I know a great deal about fighting bad habits. (Yes, I did finally quit.)

Ridding one's self of a bad habit requires planning, sometimes assistance in the form of therapy or a group's support, and ultimately making the decision to change the behavior. I am personally a fan of Cognitive Therapy where one uses affirmations and an alteration of attitude to accomplish the conquering of a bad habit, but there are many paths toward freedom from a bad habit and you should take the time to find the one that fits your own personality type.

Do some research into those who have dealt with this habit prior to you and apply some critical analysis of yourself to determine which method might serve you best. If one fails, this does not mean that you have failed, but rather that a different route is necessary. Keep trying, never give up, and keep trying different techniques and strategies until you find the right one.

Most importantly, however, is that you MUST MAKE THE DECISION TO CHANGE. Without that, no effort will be successful.

Answer 3

Science has studied this habit thing, and have found that it takes about two weeks to change your habits. First you have to realize and define your habit. Then takes steps to change your thinking of this habit. You can replace it with something else, you can try to ignore the urge, but doing something else or you can minimize the frequency of the habit.

In any case once you have done this for a period of about two weeks you should be on your way to kicking the habit. Exact ways of changing your habit is different for each habit. Good Luck

Answer 4

I think all bad habits can be broke. When you think about it, there are patterns to bad habits. Things that trigger you to react to your habit. For instance, I smoke. Everytime the telephone rings I get a cigarette. Every time I start my car, I get a cigarette. Just learn what triggers your habit and have a plan to do something else besides your bad habit. I have carrott sticks in the fridge, so everytime the phone rings, I grab a carrott instead of a cig. I honestly think this works. Hope it helps!

Answer 5

1.) Want to stop.
2.) Ask yourself why this is a habit, and why you need or want to break it?
3.) Make a commitment to yourself that you will end the habit, it helps to tell someone else so when they catch you doing said habit, they can scold you.

That's all I can really tell you without knowing what the habit actually is.

Answer 6

Depends on the habit. It takes 21 days to start a habit and 21 days to break a habit.

Answer 7

You're asking two completely different questions. One can't control other people. One can hurt another, but not control another. If you believe that another person has a bad habit there is nothing you can do about it except to stop enabling the other's addictive behaviors. It's up to each person to express one's choice. The key word here is choice (as opposed to compulsion).

Answer 8

You have to practice not doing it all the time. After a while it becomes less and less until you stop doing it altogether. So be persistent and don't give up. You may think that you will never get rid of the habit but you will. Guaranteed.

Answer 9

Practice the opposite of your habit for 21 days EVERY DAYS and you will form a new habit to replace the habit you don't want. Habits can't just go away. They need to be replaced.

Answer 10

First, you have to really want to stop. If it's a "common" habit (smoking, drinking/drugs), there may be a support group in your area. Ask for help from friends. Find a replacement behavior that's not harmful.