Your habits, toxic or productive, shape your life. They contribute to your everyday behavior. Subconsciously, they make you the person you are today. Without meaning to, you become accustomed to your routine and the tasks you carry out daily, and life can become monotonous.
There are good habits that can bring your life into perspective. They bring about positive changes in your life. Good habits attract good opportunities, which in turn have a positive effect on your life.
Then there are bad habits. These are habits or patterns of behavior that you can fall into which are harmful to yourself and others. Some, like smoking, are more harmful, but others can also be very toxic in the long run.
If you are struggling with your bad habits and want to cut them for good, you need to turn your entire life around. Cutting out bad habits is never easy. But you can do it by incorporating these three things into your life.
Shape your identity
Studies show that habits justify about 40% of our behavior on any given day. It means that they are a part of who you are and what you believe. Guide your mind in the direction of your goal.
Formulate a plan and have a ted talk with yourself. If you want to quit smoking, remind yourself that you are above this. You are a determined person who is strong enough to fight off the urge to smoke. You do not need tobacco to function. Once you have conceptualized it in your mind, it will be easier for you to cut down on this sinister habit.
Create an environment
Once you have decided to form better habits, challenge yourself in an environment that cuts down everything toxic for you. Create a safe habitat for yourself where you have no means whatsoever to go for a smoke.
Tune your mind in a way that reminds you that this is not the time or place for this thing. The safe place you have created for yourself will help you do that.
Become mindful of the process
Be mindful of the process after you set your goals. Know what you are doing. Formulate a plan so that even after you have achieved your goal, you have a system to move forward.
Forming a habit and achieving your goal is one step, but standing by it and keep fulfilling similar purposes should be your ultimate destination. It can only be possible if you have a formed system to help you in the longer run.
Forming a habit is difficult but not impossible. It would help if you stuck to your journey and put in the work. Start somewhere, anywhere. However small the detail is, please do it. It is going to turn into something big with consistency.